Under my wing
by Lastoftheamericandreamers
Summary: 'She needs you, and whether you want to admit it or not, you need her too...'
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1 Glenn POV

' Really you don't have to do this' Lori pleaded with me. 'Ill be okay, I'm quick on my feet, Ill be back in no time' I tried to reassure her.

'At least take some people with you, just to be sure' I sighed in defeat. There was no reasoning with this woman. 'Fine fine, Ill go ask around'. 'Shane can do it for you' 'Its okay' I waved my hand at her as I walked away.

'Headin back to China? you're gunna need this' I glanced down as a spoon was tossed at my feet. Freaking Merle Dixon was a pain in everyone's ass, even his own brothers.

'I'm Korean, but thanks anyway' I muttered sarcastically. I really didn't want anyone to come with me because I knew at some point we would get slowed down, but for Lori's sake I figured two other people wouldn't be as bad. I walked over to Morales.

'Hey, so I'm heading into town to grab some supplies and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come with' He agreed and I felt a little better. Now for the hard part, I had to find Daryl. Quite frankly, it wasn't hard at all to find him, he was sitting by his tent skinning squirrels ( I think). I cleared my throat nervously.

He glanced up. 'What is it?' 'I'm uh heading into Atlanta to grab some stuff, Lori wanted me to take some people and Morales already agreed to come, so I was wonderin if maybe-

'You gunna get to the point?' ' Do you wanna come with us?' 'Sure gimme somethin to do when do we leave'.

'I was actually thinking now while we got some daylight left'. He nodded and I went to go get Morales to tell him we were leaving.

We hopped in Shane's tiny jeep, with Morales Driving, me in the passenger seat, and Daryl sitting in the back. We agreed to raid Price Chopper first and the whole ride there was spent in an uncomfortable silence. Morales parked the jeep by the back door and we all filed in with Daryl in the lead. Morales and I only having bats.

A two finger signal from Daryl meant that he wanted us to split up in different aisles. I took canned foods, Morales got bottles of water, and Daryl went to the pharmacy up front. Gripping the bat tightly in my hand I crept forward silently but stopped when I heard something drop.

Mickey POV

'Shit' I muttered when the can of spaghettios I grabbed fell to the ground. I was reminded of how empty the place actually was when the sound echoed softly throughout the building. As I bent down to pick it up ,I saw a pair of footsteps creeping up the aisle next to mine. Grabbing my hunting knife out of its sheath, I bent forward in a crouching position and stalked forward. Right when I rounded the corner I raised the knife above my head and was about to send it through the zombies brain. That is, until it turned around with a surprised expression on its face. A human face.

'AH!'

'oh my God!'

We sprung away from each other, and his baseball cap fluttered to the ground. Next thing I know, a pair of footsteps come running up the aisle and I am met with two other guys. One walked over to the guy I found, and they both relax their grips on the batts they have. The other one was pointing a crossbow at me.

'Daryl shes human!' that came from the guy who I ran into , and it caused crossbow dude- Daryl to relax his stance and bring his weapon down from his face. He nodded his head at me, which I took to be some kind of apology, and I shook my head back, still struggling to calm my racing heart.


	2. Chapter 2

'Who're you? Wheres your group?' asked Daryl, he took a small step towards the girl. Glenn and Morales stood off to the side still clutching their baseball batts. They both glanced around every so often on the lookout for walkers.

'My name's Mickey, and I don't gotta group' that caught all three's attention. A little girl, maybe 13, living on her own in a zombie apocalypse.

All three guys formed a small huddle. 'What are we supposed to do with her?' 'We take 'er back with us, shes lucky shes a lil girl otherwise I'd say leave her ass'. Morales nodded and Daryl stepped forward. 'We gotta camp set up out by the quarry, so I suggest you get ur stuff and come with'. Mickey nodded and grabbed the small drawstring bag that fell off her and followed them out.

She tapped the lanky guy with the backpack on the shoulder. He turned around and Mickey handed him his baseball cap.

'Oh, thanks my names Glenn by the way'. Mickey smiled and moved so she could walk beside him. Morales and Daryl kept up front. They were all doing just fine until a lone walker crept up behind Mickey and grabbed her by the shoulder, twisting around she swept her leg under the walkers' and plunged her knife into its head as it fell to the ground. Glenn's batt came crashing down, even though it was already dead. Daryl walked over to Mickey and stood in front of her, scoping out the area of the store they were in before continuing to find the exit door.

Outside in the blistering heat the smell of decaying flesh was overwhelming. But they were all used to it. Not a sound could be heard except the light, quick pattering of feet, and the soft jingle of Mickey's knives as they bounced against her hip. No one talked. Mickey took this time to analyze the men she was with. They were all capable of of knocking her on her ass and doing things to her, it wasn't the first time after all.

'Looking to her left she could see the path was clear, readying herself to make a run for it,her shoulder muscles tensed and un-tensed. She mentally started the countdown. _On your mark, get set..._

__'I'd think twice' Daryl said craning his neck to look back at a doe-eyed Mickey. _How the heck?..._

__'Not one of us here is gunna hurt ya. Theres women and a couple of kids at camp too. In short, I think we're the best shot you got right now'. Mickey nodded and the kind smile Glenn gave her made her feel guilty.

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Back at camp, the sun was setting and Glenn, Daryl, and Morales still hadn't come back. No one showed it, but people were starting to get worried. Atop the Winnebago Dale lowered his binoculars.

'You think they're alright?' Dale looked at Lori and smiled.

'They've got Daryl Dixon with them, I'm sure they're just fine' Lori nodded and walked off. Dale raised his binoculars to his face once more and focused the lenses when he saw figures coming up the hillside. Daryl, Glenn, and Morales had all returned in one piece. Although they were all a bit spaced away from each other. _Daryl must have had another fit.. _Dale thought..until he saw a strand of long chocolate colored hair fly up with the light breeze.

'Well ill be damned'. Dale said as he scurried off the ladder. He speed-walked over to Shane, who was helping set up a fire pit. 'They're back, but it looks like we've got another survivor. Shane stood up and dusted off his hands before following Dale to meet the new person.


	3. Chapter 3

Upon entering the camp, Mickey started to feel nervous again. The three men she arrived with, whose names she remembered, had her trust...for the time being. However the muscular guy who was flanked by an older dude, had that 'superior-to-you-crazy-person' air about him. She decided she would keep an eye on him. Shane stopped in front of them and looked to Daryl.

'Whose this?'

'Found 'er in Price Chopper' And with that he hefted his crossbow on his shoulder, turned around, gave Mickey a quick glance, and left. The only one who stayed with her was Glenn, who had his arms crossed and was nervously shifting his foot in the ground. Morales went straight to find his wife and kids upon their return.

Mickey looked up at Shane. 'Hi, ma names Mickey..I don't mean to be a a lil tag along on ur group, so Ill think I'll just be going now' she was about to walk away when Shane cleared his throat.

'Its really no trouble, wouldn't feel right if I let a lil girl walk away when you could stay right here'. 'How old are you anyways?'

'13' she said. Shane nodded and glanced down for the first time noticing all the knives strapped to Mickey's leather belt. Maybe there was more to her. All the while Dale went and stood by Glenn who gave him a short recount of how they stumbled upon each other.

'Well then, come on so you can meet everyone else' She followed Shane until they were standing in what looked to be the designated meeting place of the camp. Right in front of the fire pit in the very center.

Some people were briskly walking to and fro to different tents, some were doing laundry, and a few were standing talking to one another. All heads snapped up as soon as Shane stepped in the center. Mickey, Glenn, and the old dude ( relative of Santa?) in tow. Even Daryl who was in an animated discussion with Merle looked over at them.

'Everyone, I would like to introduce Mickey. She will be joining our group from now on' Shane said, before turning around to face her and said in a low enough voice.

'You do realize you will have to pull your weight around here' She looked up at him

'Well I'm not gunna sit around on ma ass if that's what ur implying.' He gave her a small smirk and a pat on the shoulder before walking away. The old guy with the rad hat approached her and offered her his hand.

'Its nice having someone new in camp, and a young one at that. I'm Dale Horvath.' Mickey was taken by his animated attitude. She liked him already.

'Hello Dale Horvath, Mickey' she shook hands with him, all the while being watched by various members of the camp. 'If you need anything, you can find me over there' He pointed to an RV. She smiled at him and nodded and asked Glenn what usually goes on in camp.

'Umm..well usually Carol and the other women take care of laundry for us, Daryl's our hunter, and Shane is the boss..in short, if you have a problem, you take it up with him.' Mickey nodded in understanding before walking off. She noticed a lady with short gray hair was, at the moment, doing laundry by herself. As she walked over to her a frumpy guy eyed her on the back of a pickup. Cigarette in hand and one hell of a glare on his face. Mickey arched her eyebrow at him, she hated getting looks from other people.

The woman had her back turned towards her and showed no signs of hearing Mickey approaching.  
She cleared her throat and the lady turned around.

'Hi, I'm Mickey..would you like some help with that?' She gestured to the pile of clothes sitting on an ironing board. _Where the heck did that come from?_ 'Id be much obliged.' She said, and gave her a kind smile. 'I'm Carol,by the way'.

'Mickey'

Carol walked over to her and grabbed a shirt before pinning it to the clothes line. 'I sure do wish I had an iron. Some of these shirts are winkled somethin fierce'.

'You can always use hot rocks' Mickey said. 'Just lie 'em flat and stretched out a bit when they're wet'. Carol nodded her head, it sounded like a good idea to her. They worked in routine in a comfortable silence, _grab, hand,pin...grab,hand,pin_

'I have a daughter, about a year younger than you..she'll be happy to have another friend to play with'.

'I'd like to meet her' said Mickey. All thoughts of nervousness and anxiety had subsided in that moment. The group that had openly taken her in didn't seem to be so bad. But there's always something bad , lurking under the surface.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun sets as quickly as it rises. That night at dinner Mickey could've pretended that she wasn't stuck in a zombie apocalypse. That she wasn't alone in the world. The soft tawny glow of the campfire entranced her, made her feel relaxed. _I've never been camping before_ she thought with a small smirk. She was too lost in thought to pay attention to where she was going and bumped into the back of a young blonde.

'Oh man, sorry there.' The blonde turned to her with a kind smile.

'Dont worry about it..your Mickey right? I'm Amy' They shook hands and Mickey had to fight to keep from laughing. Even when the whole world's gone to hell, people (at least some) had class.

'Amy! come on and get ur plate!' An older blonde woman called from across the fire pit. 'Thats my sister, Andrea' Amy said, 'Well I better go, it was nice to meet you'. Mickey nodded and went to take a seat on a lone log. A good distance away from everyone else, but still close enough to feel the warmth of the flames. She took one look at the plate of beans that was handed to her and dug in. She couldn't remember the last time she ate.

Looking around at the group of people around her, she was happy to to see most of the people she already met. Dale and Glenn quietly talking, with Andrea and Amy on the other side of Dale..she wondered where Daryl was. Carol and a brown haired woman were right across from her, with two children in front of them looking dejectedly at their beans. Mickey had an idea.

She pulled out the can of spaghettios from her drawstring and dusted the top off. Peeking into her bag she realized she forgot to bring a can opener with her. She randomly selected a knife from her belt and took the top of..before realizing it was a pull up tab. She walked over to where Carol was sitting.

'Hi Carol' She smiled at her softly. Mickey pulled the can from behind her back. The kids faces lighting up instantly.

'Would you guys like some? I don't think I can eat all of it by ma'self'.

'Can we mom?' the little boy asked. His mom gave him the okay and they both stuck there plates out.

'What do you guys say?' she scolded.

'Thank you ! umm...' 'Mickey' she said with a smile. The boy glanced up from his plate. 'Im Carl'

'Hey Carl' she looked over at the little girl 'You must be Sophia' She nodded and gave her a small smile. Mickey looked up at Carol and the lanky Brown haired woman. 'Thank you so much' she said and,ironically, stuck her hand out.

'Im Lori'

' 's nice to meet you'

Daryl Dixon was actually sitting right behind Mickey, and had watched the whole thing. Merle grunted from beside him.

' That was a stupid move' 'Not as stupid as you' Merle scowled at Daryl and continued eating.


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, Mickey wondered where she would sleep for the night..or for however long she would be staying. She walked around the perimeter a bit before everyone settled down inside their tents. She decided to walk down to the quarry and noticed a cliff like rock projection. A full moon was out and it made the turquoise waters sparkle with a silvery sheen.

Feet dangling over the edge ( she was rather close) she re winded the days events in her head. Looking off into the distance, the thoughts she fought desperately to keep out seemed to force themselves inside her head. Thoughts of being pinned down by two men while a lanky boy tried ripping her shirt open... her ears grew red from anger. If she ever saw anyone of them again, she'd kill em, and she'd do it slowly.

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Mickey woke up rather early with a slight ache in her back. Maybe it wasn't wise to sleep on a rock..let alone a cliff. Walking towards the tents she noticed almost everyone was up and about doing different things. And not one person noticed she was gone. Carol, Andrea, Lori and another woman she didn't recognize were folding laundry. Mickey was happy Carol had more help today.

'Hey Glenn' she said as she passed him. His attention was focused on the front of the Winnebago where Dale and a lanky guy were gesturing to each other. She assumed they were having car trouble. Back tracking her steps she walked over behind Dale. 'Hi Dale...car trouble huh? Mind if I um..take a look?' His head turned around and gave Mickey a quizzical look before grinning at her. 'Go for it"

She crouched down in front of the massive vehicle and stuck her head inside. Only a few seconds were required to figure out the problem. She was good with cars. 'Your radiator hose is shot' she stated, certain. ' I would use duct tape, but it wont hold forever' she said as she pulled her head out.

Dale and Glenn's jaws practically dropped while Jim's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Mickeys cheeks turned a deep pink. 'Thanks a lot. We're going to have to have u around a lot more' said Dale. 'No problem'

There was really nothing else to do. Everyone else was already started on their own tasks and seemed to need no other help. Mickey walked to the cliff and sat down before she noticed a figure sitting on a boulder a couple feet away. She squinted her eyes and saw it was Daryl. He was holding something in his hands...she figured he was sharpening his arrows. fingering one of the many knives on her belt she figured they could use some sharpening too.

At first Mickey considered to wait until after Daryl was done. But then again, she never really felt intimidated by him. She walked through the water very quietly, looking for a sharp rock to sharpen her knives with. She was almost going to say screw it when she heard a little grunt behind her. Daryl stood mid calf in the water, holding out a smooth flat rock to her.

'Thank you' she said, and sat on a boulder right in front of his. Daryl nodded his head and sat back down, bringing another arrow onto his lap, and began to wipe it with a dirty red rag. Mickey took out her favorite hunting knife that had a lightly engraved vine design on the blade that caught the sunlight perfectly.

5 out of 7 knives were sharpened. and Daryl was still sitting on his boulder, this time inspecting his crossbow. 'Looks complicated' Mickey said without thinking. Daryl looked up 'You get used to it' he surprisingly had a soft voice. He took a moment to watch her sharpen a long knife. 'You any good with those?'

Mickey gave a small smile 'I guess, never miss' she looked over at him. Daryl nodded his head and continued looking at his crossbow. Mickey pulled her switchblade out of her pocket and pressed the button. Her finger was too close to the opening so the blade sliced her finger as it popped out. She paid no mind to it and tried sharpening it on the rock.

' 'ere, ur not doin it right' Mickey looked up at Daryl who took a seat next to here on the boulder. ' You wanna do it faster, and make the strokes more choppy fer the lil ones'. He took the knife and stone from her and demonstrated. 'Merle's your brother?' ' yeah ,whats it to ya?' Daryls voice had more of an edge to it. He assumed she was just going to go on and on about how much of a dick his brother was.

'Must be nice...having him here with you' she said, and then added in a almost a whisper 'Having a family'. Daryl's head snapped up at her words. 'Are your parents gone?' he asked.

She looked at him. 'Never had none, no siblings either...its always been just me' Daryl could sortve relate to that. Before she knew it, she was telling Daryl things she normally kept to herself. How she was bounced from foster home to foster home eventually living on the streets and having to lie about her age so she could at least get a part time job. There was only one other thing that she hadnt said yet. Something she wasnt ready to fully face.

It must have been almost dinner time. Daryl stood up when she finished before giving her the rock and knife back. 'Hey Daryl?'

'Yeah?'

'Thank you for listening' He nodded and gave her one last look before he headed back up to camp. Atop the Winnebago Dale smiled to himself. He had witnessed the entire thing.


	6. Chapter 6

After dinner Daryl walked up beside Mickey. 'Follow me' he said. They came to a stop in front of two tents. 'That ones urs' he said and pointed to the one on the right. Mickey was a bit shocked. 'How did you know?' Daryl just gave a small shrug 'Didn't want you to have to sleep on a rock all the time..its gunna start to get cold here soon'.

'Thank you so much' Mickey said. This time instead of a grunt or a nod, Daryl said ' Ur welcome'. Before she went to bed, however, she found a nice lean stick and some feathers from a bird and began to make it into an arrow.

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The next day Shane gathered everyone and told them another run in to Atlanta was needed. He asked for volunteers, but was mainly looking at Glenn. He groaned to himself. 'You seem to know the streets better than anyone, and I think its best if you went along' 'Any other volunteers?'

Members of the group looked at each other, Amy gripping onto Andreas arm. 'Ill go' said Morales as he stepped forward, followed by T-Dog, the woman Mickey never officially met, Merle Dixon...surprisingly and Andrea despite many protests from her sister. 'Right then' said Shane, 'Its still pretty early, so I suggest you leave now'. Everyone's faces paled as they said good bye to each other. Mickey looked around and spotted Merle waiting beside the big delivery truck, but no sign of Daryl. She knew he would be pissed if he had to find out from someone else that his brother was leaving.

She ran over to the Quarry to find Daryl cleaning his crossbow. She ran beside him slightly out of breath. 'Daryl, Shane's got a group of people headin to Atlanta, Merles goin' Daryl looked at her, shock evident in his eyes. He muttered under his breath ' Just like him, bein stupid' He shook his head. Mickey took a seat on the mossy ground in front of him 'Dont you wanna say good bye?' He shook his head. 'Besides, Im goin on a lil trip ma'self' he said. 'Wheres that?' Mickey asked.

'Found a couple of deer tracks close to camp, gunna go hunting' _Ive never been hunting before..._Mickey thought. 'Can I go with you?' she asked. To her surprise Daryl smiled a little bit. 'Maybe some other time little one' Mickey was a bit dissapointed, but at least Daryl didn't completely shut her down. 'So when are you leavin?'

'When I get done doin this' Mickey picked at the moss for a moment before reaching in her drawstring and pulling out the arrow she had made. It was long and lean, with a small, sharp rock on the top. Brown feathers with white spots from some bird Mickey couldn't name. Daryl was still looking at his crossbow. 'I made this last night, it would probably break if you used it, but I just wanted to say thanks.'

She handed the arrow to Daryl, who picked it up carefully, like it was made of glass. He looked it over and decided that he could indeed probably use it. He felt something warm in the pit of his stomach that spread through his feet and fingertips. He was..touched. He looked down at Mickey who had he eyes glued to the ground and reached over and gave her a clap on the shoulder. She looked up and smiled at him. She didn't need to hear him say thank you to know that that's what he meant.

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Daryl had gone on his hunting trip and the group of volunteers had left for Atlanta and Mickey had caught up with Glenn and told him to be careful. The air was cool and refreshing with a light breeze, and Mickey decided that she should re connect with her knife throwing skills. She walked into the woods and stopped as soon as she couldn't see the tents and found a nice sized tree trunk to use. She pulled a short knife from her belt and carved a target into the trunk. Then she walked a good distance from it and threw the same knife. _THWUNK! _right in the center of the target the knife vibrated. Unknown to the others, Mickey was a very gifted knife thrower and could throw a knife even over a hundred feet and still it would land in the target. She never, ever missed and didn't even have to think before throwing.

It was now noon as Mickey walked back up to camp. She could hear a weird wining noise coming from an old radio CB that sat on a tree trunk . She took a seat beside Andrea as she fiddled with it.

_Hello? can anyone in the area hear me? Approaching Atlanta from highway if anyone can hear me please respond..._

'Oh shit!' said Mickey. Shane walked over and grabbed the walkie talkie thing. ' Hello Hello this is officer Shane Walsh person in the area please respond' he waited a few minutes before giving up. 'Hes gone'. Mickey immediately reached for the radio and tried fiddling with the knobs while Lori, Amy, and Shane argued about putting up signs near Atlanta to warn any other survivors.

Late noon approached and the group of volunteers still hadn't returned. She didn't show it, but Mickey was starting to get worried, especially about Glenn. And without Daryl here there was really no one else to talk to. Carol walked by her carrying to laundry baskets stacked on top of each other, and Mickey managed to save the top basket before it tumbled to the ground. 'Mind if I join you?' 'Sure thing'.

When they reached the quarry Amy was already there wringing out a dirty shirt. Mickey noticed if was just them three and wondered why Lori wasn't down here helping. She popped a squat next to Carol and started scrubbing a very, VERY dirty red t-shirt with the sleeves cut. Little red dots sprinkled the lower half of the shirt, and no matter how hard she scrubbed, those vicious little dots would not come out!

'Dixon's shirts are always stained' said Amy. Then it dawned on her that the was cleaning Daryl's was startled from her concentration by loud splashing and laughing. Shane and Carl were playing in the water. Mickey smiled to herself, happy for Carl that he had at least both his parents here with him. Mickey got bored so she started telling some jokes causing Amy to double over with laughter and even Carol to chuckle to herself. Thats when Ed came lumbering towards them.


	7. Chapter 7

'What's so funny over here?' he asked, and a eerie silence fell over them. Mickey looked to where she had seen Carl and Shane only to find they werent there. Even the waters became still unlike the rolling ripples they had caused. Mickey began to feel very uncomfortable, she had a feeling she knew what he did to Carol when no one was watching.

'I asked a damn question' now she was pissed, and struggled to keep herself in check. 'Just telling some jokes, Ed, felt compelled to tell them.' She stood up and looked him square in the eyes, challenging him. 'This aint no comedy club, so I suggest you keep that mouth shut and do your job"

'And what exactly is my job supposed to be huh?' 'Mickey please stop' Carol said in a frightened whisper. She paid her no mind. 'Waiting on hand and foot to serve fat assholes like you?' His fist flew faster than she saw coming. Before she knew it she was flat on her ass, and her eye hurt something fierce. But this only enraged her further. Carol and Amy crawled over to her. 'Leave her alone!' said Amy. 'That should teach ya' Ed turned away but Mickey selected a dagger and threw at him, pining his left sleeve deep to a tree trunk. Fast as lightning she hopped up before punching him square in the jaw, using her right hand to deliver a jab to the gut. While he was dazed she punched him good in the eye before spitting on his shoe. 'THAT should teach ya' she said venomously and stalked off, pulling her knife from the trunk which brought Ed down with it.

She walked back into camp, blinking her eye to keep from watering too badly. Unfortunately, she walked right past Dale who did a double take and grabbed her by the shoulder. 'Oh my word Mickey what happened?' 'Ed Peltie, but I took care of it'. Dale escorted her into the camper and put a cool washcloth over her eye. 'I think we should tell Shane bout this, Eds been out of control lately'. 'Do what you gotta, thanks Dale' He gave her a pat on the back before going out to find Shane. And when he told him , Shane was a bit shocked. He went down to the quarry to see Ed leaning against a tree, and he had a full view of what Mickey actually did to him. He leaned down so he was face to face with Ed. 'You had what was coming to ya, act out again and I'll be there making sure she don't stop the next time'. When Dale returned back to the Winnebago, he saw that Mickey was fast asleep. He pulled a blanket over her and re-wetted the washcloth. One thing he knew for sure was that Daryl was not going to be too happy when he finds out

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Mickey woke up from a short nap. Dale was nowhere inside, so she figured everyone was still out doin their thing. She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, her eye was already swelling rapidly and was turning a deep midnight blue color. A curved red line to show where Eds chubby knuckles broke the blood vessels. She could hear a vehicle pull in to camp. That must mean the group returned! She raced out of the Winnebago to see a very sleek looking red sports car. _What the fuck?_ The car alarm blared throughout camp, and was no doubt, being echoed throughout the woodlands. 'Turn that thing off1' said Dale. 'I don't know how!" Glenn said, becoming uncomfortable.

Mickey hopped off the steps and yanked the hood open before pulling the wires that led to the alarm system. Shane was giving Glenn a death glare while he was being pestered by Amy. 'Yes yes! They're all okay!' he said. That made Mickey sigh with relief. She walked over to Glenn and gave him a pat on the shoulder. He took one look at her and his eyes grew real big. 'What happened to you?' 'Ill tell ya later' she said. Suddenly the big white moving van they had all departed in pulled up. Morales was the first to hop out and was greeting by his children and his wife. 'Andrea!' Amy choked out and the two sisters clung top each other.

Mickey looked over as Morales began the recount of their expedition to see Lori squatting down to Carl's height softly talking to him as he cried. 'Hey, Helicopter Boy! Come meet everyone!' A door slammed and in walked a lanky guy in a sheriffs outfit. Subtle and powerful in looks. He stopped mid step and was staring at Shane who looked like he totally crapped himself. 'DAD!' yelled Carl as he ran to the cop, who immediately swept him up in his arms and tackled him to the ground. They were both laughing and crying..and then it dawned on her as he embraced Lori. They were a family. Mickey looked over at Shane, who was smiling, but if you looked real deep into his eyes, it was a different story. In the midst of everyone hugging and kissing, Mickey noticed she hadn't seen Merle at all. _Oh no._

That night she joined Glenn by the campfire as the sheriff guy-Rick he said his name was, talked softly about how he was in a coma, only to wake up and find out about the whole zombie take over through someone else, not knowing for sure whether or not his family was still alive. He said he felt disoriented. He told of how he handcuffed Merle to the roof, because he went bonkers. And how they had to leave him behind behind because T-Dog accidentally dropped the key. Dale told Rick that Daryl was on a hunting trip, and how he wasn't going to be happy to hear about his brother. Dale looked across the fire to Mickey. 'I think you should be the one to tell him, I've noticed he's more open to you than the rest of us. I agreed to tell him, and then Rick and T-Dog would fill him in, since I had no part in leaving him.

Andrea looked at Mickey, 'We never got a chance to hear you're story' she said in a soft voice. They all looked interestingly at her. 'Theres not much to say' said Mickey. But she went on anyways. 'I've always been on my own..at least that's all I can remember. I never knew my actual parents, as far as I'm concerned I have none. I was bounced around from a lot of foster homes until I got tired of it. So when I was 12 I ran off...been surviving ever since.' Everyone around Mickey looked at her with pity, recognition. 'What were you doing when all of this started?' asked Glenn. 'I remember I was working on a car in this auto garage when I saw my first walker. The garage was open, so it just lumbered on in. I was underneath the car so it didn't see me right away. I crawled underneath to the other side of the car, crept up behind it and killed it. She looked at Rick. 'Those eyes man..one look and you know its not human anymore.'

Shane got up to confront Ed when he placed another log into the fire. His face looked worse than ever.


	8. Chapter 8

The campfires were put out and the night was still. Mickey walked past the Winnebago. 'G'night Dale!' she called up to him, but turned around when she got no answer. Shane was keeping watch that night and was sulking in a fold up lawn chair deep in thought. Lightning flashed and a light shower of rain began. Mickey walked back to her tent and was about to go talk to Daryl when she remembered he wasn't there. She hoped he didn't mind the rain.

Mickey woke earlier than everyone else because of her throbbing eye. She went down to the quarry and splashed some water on her face and neck. The day went about rather slowly. Mickey once again helped Carol with laundry, who kept telling her how sorry she was. 'No worries' Mickey said 'Someone needed to do something about him anyways'. She also helped Dale, Jim, and Glenn duct tape the radiator hose of the Winnebago..again, and that's when Glenn decided to interrogate her about her eye.

'Sooo, you wanna tell me what happened?' 'Well um, I was helpin with laundry and Ed was being a jackass so I may have called him a fat asshole'. Glenn sighed 'Mickey you gotta be careful around him, and the Dixon's for that matter' Mickey straightened up 'Daryl's a good guy, its his brother ur talkin bout' Suddenly screams were heard and without a doubt Mickey knew it was Carl. She flew behind Rick and Lori but somehow saw the walker before them. Still running she unsheathed a dagger and sent it flying. It struck the walker right through the head to where both ends stuck out. Ricks head flew back and stared at Mickey who gave him a shy smile.

'This is the first one we've had in camp' said Dale. Everyone was confused, and worried. 'They're running outta food in the city that's what' said Jim as he slung a bat over his shoulders. Carol, Sophia, and Jackie headed back into camp followed by Amy and Andrea who couldn't stomach the mottled neck of the deer the walker chose for a meal. Shane rolled the walker off the deer and the first thing Mickey noticed was the wooded arrow sticking out of the leg, accompanied by two regular metal ones. Mickey smiled a bit.

'Daryl's sure gunna be pissed' As if on cure rustling sounded and everyone turned towards the sound. Those who had guns had them locked and loaded. Only Mickey was relaxed with her arms folded. ' 'S just Daryl' No one payed her any mind. Daryl emerged from the bushes and staggered back a bit when he saw a gun in his face. It was quickly lowered.

'Son of a bitch! Thats my deer! Look at it, all gnawed on by this...' he began to kick the walker and call it several names that made Mickey snicker while the men looked at him disapprovingly. He yanked the arrows ( the one Mickey made more gently) and wiped them on his pants. He still hadn't seen her. Daryl noticed the dagger. 'Looks like Mickey was smart enough to take care of it' He ripped it from the walkers head. Suddenly he glared at Shane. 'You let her get this close to one?' 'Knife throwing has its advantages' said Mickey from beside Glenn. Everyone turned around and began to head back towards camp . Part of Mickeys hair hid most of the left side of her face so her shiner wasn't really noticed. Dale looked back at Mickey and nodded to her. That was her cue.

'Hey Daryl, can you stay back for a bit, I gotta tell you something' 'Sure' Mickey faced Daryl and said ' Its Merle, he got left behind..chained to a roof' She watched his eyes narrow. 'Theres a new guy that came back with everyone else, Rick Grimes. Hes a sheriffs deputy and said Merle was out of control.' She was wise to back up and give Daryl some space. He kicked a tree stump and then ran back to camp. _Shit. _Mickey thought.

Mickey was right behind Daryl as he burst into camp and found Rick. YOU CHAINED MY BROTHER TO A ROOF! AND YOU _LEFT_ HIM THERE? Rick tried to explain what happened when Daryl threw the string of squirrels he had at him and lunged. Shane tackled him to the ground and put him in a choke hold. Rick bent down next to him 'I don't like what I did, but it had to be done, your brother does not work and play well with others.' Daryl trashed around in Shane s grip. 'Shane stop! He cant breathe!' she was about to go over and help but Glenn firmly but gently gripped both her shoulders and held her back. Shane finally released Daryl who was extremely red in the face. 'To hell with all y'all!' He waved his hand at them as he stalked off.

Mickey knew to give Daryl some space. But after a few hours she decided to go talk to him. She walked down to the quarry and sure enough he was there, sharpening his arrows on the same boulder as before. She took a deep breath and sat on the ground beside him. ' Its really too bad about your brother, how things turned out' Daryl gave a grunt. 'I hear Rick was talking to his wife about gathering a search party to go get him.' 'You mean go get his mangled, dead, zombified body?' 'You didn't stick around but I heard after T-Dog dropped the key, he chained a padlock to the door...he could still be alive.'

It made Mickey sad to see him rub his eye hurriedly. 'Damn' he said. 'Ricks already got some people and they're leavin tomorrow for Atlanta...' Daryl nodded and he reached beside him and gave Mickey her dagger back. Free of walker blood. She smiled at him. 'Thanks' . They sat in silence for a while until it became dinner time. Mickey decided to eat with Daryl beside his tent.

'Dixon and Mickey?' said Andrea to Dale. 'Hes opening up to her.' The wind blew the hair from Mickeys face and Daryl got a full view of her multicolored eye. 'WHO THE HELL DID THAT?' he said rather loudly. Dale smiled at Andrea as if to say _see?_

When Daryl saw Mickey's eye a brief feeling of anxiety washed over him. But it was quickly replaced by anger. 'Ed. I made him mad and well ..you see the outcome. But boy, you should see what _I _ did' Daryl. Was. Pissed. He leaped from the ground and stalked over to Ed who was sitting on a log by the fire. He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him down to the ground. Punches flew as Rick and Shane tried to haul him off . 'You son of a bitch! If you ever touch her again Im gunna kill you!'

In the morning Everyone gathered around Rick as he told the rest of the group that he and several others were heading back into Atlanta to rescue Merle. Shane however, was not happy. 'You're gunna take all our man power? And for what? A douche bag like Merle Dixon?' Daryl glanced up 'Hey choose your words more carefully.' 'Oh no, douche bags what I meant.' said Shane. Mickey hadn't told anyone that she planned on going. So when no one was paying attention, she climbed onto the top of the moving van they were planning to take, and lied flat so no one could see her. _This has gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever done._ She thought to herself. Suddenly she could hear the doors slam and the van began to move.

The ride was surprisingly smooth and not too bumpy. When they were a good ways away from camp, Mickey sat cross legged on the roof of the van. When they got under a bridge the van stopped. Mickey slid down the windshield and hopped off. Glenn yelled.

'AH! Mickey what the hell!'

' Geese Glenn, someones jumpy.' Rick, T-Dogg, and Daryl ran around the side of the van. Daryl lowered his crossbow. He was shocked to see Mickey, of all people.

'Mickey what are you doin?' She walked over to him 'Im here to help find Merle.' The three men formed a small circle around her. Rick spoke up. 'Does anyone know you're here?' 'Nope, but I know they wont notice.' They were still staring at her. 'Can we um, like go now?' She made a hand gesture for go. They walked in a horizontal line. Mickey walked in between Daryl and Glenn. 'Are you mad?' she asked Daryl. He clapped her on the shoulder. 'Naw, jus surprised.'

They walked along a street. Stepping on random artifacts of what was once a thriving human civilization. Clothes, toys, you name it. They got closer to see tall buildings and Daryl gave Mickey a look that said 'Stay by me'. Rick led them to the building where Merle was and they ran up the staircase to the roof with Daryl in the lead.

'NOO! Daryl paced around the the rooftop. The one where Merle was supposed to be. Instead all there was was a puddle of blood, and reddish tinted handcuffs still chained to the pipe. A toolbox lay overturned on the other side of the pipe and a hand saw lay near the handcuffs. Merle had cut off his own hand. _D__am_ Mickey thought.

Daryl started at the the mess before spinning around to point his crossbow at T-Dogg. Rick flicked out his pistol and pointed it to the side of Daryl's head. Out of instinct Mickey pulled out a knife and stepped forward. 'I don't care if every walker in the city hears it' said Rick in a dangerous voice. Daryl blinked before lowering his weapon and asking if he had a dew-rag. He explained how Merle must have used a tourniquet to prevent even more blood loss and placed the now wrapped slain hand of his brother in Glenns backpack. Mickey gave him a pat on the back. They followed the blood trail Merle left behind and entered a kitchen. Mickey could have heaved at the acrid stench that permeated the room. Pots were everywhere and a blue-orange flame rose high.

'He cauterized the wound' Rick said disbelievingly. Glenn looked like he was going to throw up, while Daryl just looked grim. They found two dead walkers lying in front of a smashed window that led to a fire escape. Then they made a game plan..or rather Glenn did while everyone else tried to analyze and understand it. In the beginning the plan seemed futile, too dangerous. But the more Glenn explained it the more it seemed like they had a good shot.

Rick and T-Dogg would wait together in one alleyway, while Glenn and Daryl went in another. 'What am I supposed to do?' asked Mickey. 'Just stay here' said Glenn. 'Oh hell no, I came here to help not sit around and wait for the rest 'o you'. 'She can come with us' said Daryl.

The three of them climbed swiftly down the fire escape ladder into the alley where Glenn said he had dragged Rick into when they first met, then he went to go grab the bag of guns Rick had dropped. All of a sudden Daryl pulled Mickey with him to the ground where they squatted behind a dumpster. She could hear footsteps. They were too quick to belong to a walker. At the same time they both sprang up, Daryl aiming his crossbow at a young Latino boy who looked scared shitless. He questioned the boy about Merle when he began to yell out in Spanish. Mickey clutched a medium sized hunting knife from her belt. 'Quiet! Or you'll bring the geeks down on us, now answer me!' said Daryl.

He had the boy on the ground, wiggling under the firm grip of Daryl's hand on his mouth. Suddenly two burly men ran into the alley and tackled Daryl. Mickey flew on top of the guy who was beating him with a baseball batt. He dropped the batt and tried to pry her off him while Mickey dragged what fingernails she had into his flesh. He bucked her off where she rolled onto the ground and sprang up surprisingly quickly and tackled the guy back to the ground before stabbing him in the thigh with her knife. Glenn skidded to a halt before the scene in front of him, Daryl just recovering from his attack and Mickey wrestling with a guy on the ground.

The two guys looked up. 'Thats the bag valto take it!' Glenn got rushed as a car pulled in front and he was being stuffed inside. 'DARYL DARYL!' an arrow flew into the behind of one as he hopped quickly into the car. 'GLENN!' yelled Mickey as she ran out into the street, chasing after the car. Before they got too far away she sent a dagger flying into one of the tires. 'Mickey get back here!' yelled Daryl. She looked around where a group of walkers were closing in on her. She sliced her way through and squeezed through the gate opening as Daryl yanked it shut. Rick and T-Dogg came running towards them as Daryl explained what happened. Mickey touched her bottom lip and pulled her fingers that were coated with sticky crimson. Daryl handed her a rag.


	9. Chapter 9

T-Dogg ruffly sat the Latino boy into a desk chair. He was repeatedly questioned by all three while Daryl told them what happened. He was very close to kicking the guys face in after he insulted Merles name if it wasn't for Rick and T-Dogg holding him back. Mickey couldn't take the silence any more. Not only was she worried sick about Glenn, her heroic actions cost her one of her knives. She leapt onto the desk and got right into the boys face.

'Look here asshole, your little gang took my friend, and so help me God if you don't tell me where he is im gunna cut your tongue out.' 'Mickey that's enough' said Rick. The boy looked her in the eyes, unyielding. She had a long hunting knife in her hand. In the blink of an eye Mickey lunged for the boy and tackled him to the ground. 'Alright alright! Ill tell you! Call her off man!.' Daryl yanked her away while Rick stepped in between. The scuffle had caused Mickey's lip to start bleeding again. Daryl didn't notice until drops of warmness dripped onto his fingers that gripped both her shoulders.

'Damn kid, ur lip.' Then he did something that caused T-Dogg and Rick to stare unbelieving. He spun Mickey around and wiped the blood off with his red rag. The next few moments were spent playing good cop/bad cop. Finally the boy gave in and told them where his gangs headquarters were. They tied his hands behind his back and placed him up front. T-Dogg, Daryl, and Rick had guns poking into his back forcing him to move. _Hang on Glenn, were comin. _

__'Any funny business, and ur gettin an arrow in the ass, jus so you know.' said Daryl. The boy cockily looked at Daryl and said 'Ill just yank it out and shove it in your ass, just so YOU know.' Mickey cocked an eyebrow. 'What happens when I shove this knife down your throat?' 'Hmm' said Daryl as he looked back. A tiny smile on his face. They all stood in front of two large wooden doors that opened to reveal a whole bunch of men. Their leader, who the boy said was called 'G', sauntered forward in the front and exchanged some words with Rick. He wanted the bag of guns on Ricks shoulder.

The man that got Daryl's arrow in the butt pointed a gun at him, and Mickey stepped forward in front of him protectively with both of her longest knives in her hands. 'Aye, look here amigos, a little chikita bodyguard.' All the men laughed at her. 'Wheres Glenn?' she demanded. 'G' looked up , and Glenn was shoved forward held by two men on either side. She could see him trembling.

'G' set up a trade, Glenn for the bag of guns...otherwise if they failed to return without them, they would all be caught in a gun crossfire. The boy, (who they learned was called Miguel) was to go back with them. Before they turned around to leave Mickey called out. ' One scratch on Glenn..and I wont hesitate to kill you.' 'G' smirked at her.

'Dont do that again' said Daryl. 'What?' 'Step in front of a guy holding a gun.' They entered their hideout. 'Rather it be me than you.' Daryl started at her for a minute. 'Guns are worth more than gold, worth your life.' he told Rick. Rick made a speech about how Glenn didn't walk out on him when he was stuck in the tank. 'I wont walk away either.' he said. 'And neither will I.' said Mickey. Rick looked to T-Dogg and Daryl, who eventually nodded their heads. They were in.

'So ur just gunna give up the guns then?' asked Daryl. Rick popped the safety off his pistol. 'I didn't say that.'

They blindfolded Miguel and walked back to 'G's lair. The doors once again opened and they walked inside. Daryl sticking very close to Mickey. When Rick tried giving her a gun she said 'Im only good with knives..don't no nun bout guns.' he said' Looks like that can be something we work on.' He gave her a smile.

They were surrounded by all sides. Rick motioned Mickey over and she cut the bonds on Miguel's hands and Rick shoved him forward. 'You have your man, we want ours.' 'G', however, disagreed. He still wanted the bag of guns. Mickey was proud of Rick, he refused and stood his ground. 'Im gunna chop up ur boy, feed him to my dogs. Meanest sons of bitches you ever seen. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be are you deaf?' 'Nope, you said come locked and loaded. Well were here.' Rick pointed his rifle at 'G' which caused all his homies to point their guns at them.

All of a sudden a little old lady hobbled into the sea of gangsters. At first she thought Rick was there to take away her grandson, but after explaining she led them to Glenn who was one of the people surrounding who was having an asthma attack. As soon as they walked into the room Mickey scoped the area for a head of black hair. 'Glenn!' she ran to him and was embraced in a warm hug. She checked him over for any signs of damage and nodded her head at 'G' who was smirking at her.

'Can I talk to you for a moment?' Rick asked 'G' Mickey and Glenn followed them into a small room. They all learned that their hideout was indeed a nursing home, and that 'G' and his valtos were taking care of them. That earned them a good spot in Mickeys book. 'These people, they look up to me..and I don't even know why.' 'Because they can.' said Mickey. He considered her words and then reached into his back pocket. 'One of the valtos found this stuck in the back tire. Do you knife throw?' Mickey gladly accepted her knife back..even though it was dented. 'Yeah, I do. Tell the valtos I said thanks for me.'

The sun was setting as they made there way back to the van. Mickey in between Daryl and Glenn as usual. 'Your gunna have to show me how you do that.' said Glenn as he pointed to Mickey's belt of knives. 'Sure thing.' They all stopped abruptly. 'Oh my God.' said Glenn. 'Where the hell's our van.' asked Daryl. 'Merle.' said Rick. Daryl looked at him.'Hell be bringing vengeance back to camp.' 'Looks like we might want to hustle it up then.' said Mickey. They all fell into a light sprint/jog. They neared camp when the first scream sounded.

'Oh my God.' said Rick.

They busted into camp and what they saw made Mickey's heart practically beat out of her chest. Walkers were everywhere. The bodies of the the ones who couldn't get away lay scattered on the ground. Everyone split up while gunshots were going off every second. Mickey panicked. She only had her knives and she couldn't find backed into something and spun around only to find Glenn. They stood back to back and fought of the walkers that got too close.

Meanwhile Daryl threw his arm out behind him to try and push Mickey further into him. But he was met with only air. He panicked. 'MICKEY! MICKEY!' Glenn and Mickey looked up and made there way to the sound of Daryls voice. By now there were no more walkers. Only the sounds of crying and hysteria. Mickey pushed past people until she ran smack into Daryl who stooped down and briefly embraced her. He looked over her shoulder at Glenn who had stuck with her the entire time. He nodded his head at him in quiet thanks.

Off to the side Andrea wept and screamed for her dead sister.


	10. Chapter 10

No one got much sleep later that night. Rick was over in a corner discussing with Shane what to do with the bodies of the walkers and the deceased. There was also a much bigger topic. Would they continue living in the camp they had all become acquainted with?. No one knew what had cased the influx of walkers. But as far as Mickey was concerned, the camp was no longer safe.

Mickey sat on the ground at Daryl's feet with Glenn beside her. His hand was trembling so she took his hand in hers. She could still hear the screaming, and unknowingly pressed herself deeper into the fortress of Daryls legs. He looked down at her with a look of mixed emotions. There was no doubt about it that Mickey was growing on him. Daryl, however, still didn't know whether or not he wanted to accept it. All the things he did that have either protected her or comforted her had been instinctual, he didn't even have to second guess.

Mickey could feel her eyelids growing heavier despite her protestations. She looked over and saw a bent over figure huddled over a form on the ground. She fell asleep with Glenn's hand in hers and leaned up against Daryl's leg.

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WHACK! Went the pickaxe as Daryl sent it crashing down. Rick had decided that the bodies of the walkers would be burned, and the bodies of the deceased would be buried. It was up to Daryl and Mickey to make sure that neither would be coming back. Daryl went to help Morales drag the body of a walker over to Glenn, much to his displeasure. 'Our people go in that row over there!' he said. Daryl gave him a quick glare then hauled it over to where Mickey was and she sent her jacked-up-dented dagger into its head.

She walked away when Daryl handed the axe to Carol. She considered going over to talk to Andrea who hadn't moved at all during the night. Amy hadn't come back yet. A hand on the shoulder prevented her from taking another step as Rick gave her a kind look. Mickey nodded and let him go talk to Andrea instead. She was glad she didn't go when Andrea whipped out her gun and pointed it stark in Ricks face. He backed away cautiously with his hands held up in front of him. 'Im sorry.' he kept muttering.

' A walker bit Jim!.' Mickey could feel her heart sink. She liked Jim, and had come up with the nickname 'Mountain Man' for him when they worked on the Winnebago together due to his beard and looks. Everyone surrounded him like a trapped animal. 'Show us' barked Daryl. 'Im okay, Im okay' Jim kept saying. Mickey entered the circle and stepped over beside Jim. She could see the blood seeping through his shirt. 'Will you show us, please' she said in a kind voice. He closed his eyes and nodded his head as Mickey gently lifted up his shirt to reveal an angry, bloody bit mark in his side.

Rick had him sit on a bucket on the other side of the Winnebago while the others decided his fate. Daryl kept glancing back at Jim a thoughtful look on his face before lowering the pick axe from his shoulders. 'We can try for the CDC' said Rick in an effort to preserve Jim for as long as possible. 'Pick up some aspirin, but someone here has to have the balls to take care of the dam problem.' Daryl twisted around and ran over to Jim with the axe held ready to swing into Jim's head. 'NO' yelled Mickey. Daryl stopped mid swing at her outburst at the same time when Rick held his pistol to his head.

'We don't kill the living.' he said menacingly. 'Thats funny, comin from a guy with his gun to my head.' Mickey inwardly laughed. Jim still had his eyes closed and was starting to pale and sweat heavily. 'This isn't helping Jim' said Mickey 'Personally I am all for the CDC if it can help him.' Rick regarded her words and nodded in agreement with her. 'Shes right, we cant let Jim suffer, I think the CDC is our best shot right now. It will be heavily guarded, and considering the outcome of last night, seems better than here.'

They had a small funeral service for the fallen members of camp. Tears were shed at the sight of Andrea struggling to place her sister in a grave. The plan was decided to leave right after. Everyone hurried to gather there things. Mickey walked into the Winnebago where Jackie was nursing Jim and placed her hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. She grabbed Jim's hand and held it before the first of the line of cars started their engines. 'Les go Mickey' called Daryl, and she slid into the passenger seat of his truck.

A honk from the Winnebago in front caused everyone to stop their cars on the side of the road. Jim wasn't doing well at all. Rick went inside to talk to Jim and came out a a few moments later looking like he was about to tell Carl that his pet dog had died. 'He wants us to leave him here.' 'Is he sane?' asked Carol. 'Right now yes.'

Rick and Shane propped Jim against a tree in the shade. The sunlight filtered down through the leaves, and Mickey was reminded of an old tale about Merlin the Wizard who was trapped in a tree by the evil Morgan Le Fay. How she wished this was all just a fairytale. They each took individual time alone with Jim to tell him their last goodbyes. When it was Mickey's turn she sat down cross legged in front of him and took his sweaty hand in hers and rubbed it with her thumb. 'Hey Mountain Man.. He smiled at the name..your gunna see your family real soon ya hear? your not gunna have to worry no more about all this pain and sufferin. Right now it hurts, but when its time, it'll be as easy as breathing. Its okay to let go...I had a great time working on the Winnebago with you.' She planted a kiss on his cheek. 'Ill miss ya.'

When Mickey was done she was surprised to see Daryl waiting for her with his head down. He was close enough to hear what she told Jim. He looked up at her as she approached and clapped her softly on the shoulder before hopping back into his truck and following the cars in front, off to the CDC. Mickey looked back with slightly agitated eyes at the form of Jim lying against the tree. From here, he looked peaceful


	11. Chapter 11

Mickey leaned against the door of Daryl's rusty truck. The wind blowing through her chocolate hair. So far neither her nor Daryl had tried to start a conversation, but they were both okay with that. It gave them time to process everything. Daryl chewed on his thumbnail before glancing over at Mickey.'Shouldn't you have ur seat belt on?' she looked amused over at him. 'Shouldn't you?' He chuckled to himself. 'Smart-ass kid' 'Hey does your radio work?' she asked. 'Naw not since the lines crashed.' she nodded.

'Do you think it was right?...leaving Jim?' Daryl rested him arm against the door frame before contemplating his words. 'Yeah, I think it was. It was what he wanted. At least we could offer him some peace.' Mickey nodded before rubbing her eye. 'That still botherin ya?' 'Naw, Im jus kinda tired..didn't get much sleep las night'

'We still got a ways ta go..go head an get some shut eye.' He looked over. She was already asleep.

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In the RV Glenn sat hunched over a map, making sure they were going the right way. Dale sat relaxed in the drivers seat clutching the steering wheel loosely. Andrea was curled with her back facing them on the bed in the back. 'It seems young Mickey has taken a liking to you' he said, giving Glenn a fatherly smile. He smiled back 'Yeah Mick's pretty cool. I still don't know what to think about her relationship with Daryl though.' Dale nodded understandingly. He knew Glenn was just looking out for her. 'Its a blessing in disguise. They're opening up more. Daryl surprisingly so' he chuckled.

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Daryl eased his foot on the brake as the cars in front of him came to a slow stop. Mickey still hadn't woken up yet so he gently shook her on the knee. Upon contact Mickey shot straight up in her seat, wide eyed before she saw Daryl. She relaxed. 'Jumpy much?' he asked teasingly. She cocked an eyebrow and gave a lopsided smirk. She stretched a bit before looking out the window, she noticed night was swiftly approaching. 'Here already?' 'Yep, come on' The exited the truck as Daryl handed her her drawstring bag from the made sure all her knives were on her belt before walking around the truck to stand beside Daryl.

Bodies of dead soldiers lay everywhere. Flies hovering over every one, the smell was horrid to say the least. Mostly everyone had their hands clamped over their noses. Daryl cocked his bow as Mickey took out Two knives. 'Stay close, ya hear?' 'Yeah' They all quickly made there way to the front entrance. Which was locked. Mickey noticed a small camera off to the side. Rick and Shane banged on the door to no avail. Panic started to sink in..no one was coming to the rescue, and darkness was approaching rapidly.

'You led us into a graveyard' snarled Daryl as he angrily stalked toward Rick. Shane roughly pushed him aside. 'Shut up! just shut up!' 'Back off Shane' Mickey said in a low voice. She turned around to assist Rick in banging maniacally on the door. 'Yo! if anyone's there opening this door would be great ya know! ' She listened as Shane strived to persuade Rick to turn around and head for Fort Benning.

'Walkers!' yelled Daryl as the first one came down from his and Lori backed further into the doors with their kids as Mickey stood in a line with the rest of the men taking down walkers that got too close. A lady with a leg trailing behind her approached Mickey. Smiling she selected the jacked-up-bented dagger. 'Hey Glenn!' he looked over at her as she mouthed the word 'watch'. Glenn watched amazed as the dagger went sailing through the air, quietly spinning several times before deeply implanting itself right in between the walkers eyes. 'God dam' he muttered. Daryl and everyone else besides Rick (Who had already seen before) had seen Mickey's supposed talent in the act now. There was a new level of respect for her.

Rick and Shane started to yell at each other before Rick pointed with a shaky finger. 'The camera..it moved.' Shane continued to yell at Rick as more walkers approached only to be put swiftly down. When they finally made a clear path everyone turned and began to run back towards the cars. 'You're killing us!' screamed Rick. Suddenly the doors opened and everyone was bathed in a shockingly bright, white light.

They all wasted no time in hustling through the now opened entrance. Daryl practically scooped up Mickey by the waist and carried her through the doors. She looked around, the place seemed empty. When Rick spoke his voice softly echoed throughout the building. 'Check for walkers' They were still on the defensive.

A voice sounded through a partially cloaked area of the building. 'What do you want?' a man in what seemed to be his late 30's stepped out of the shadows pointing a rifle at them. Rick hesitantly strode forward. 'A chance' 'That seems to be a lot these days' 'I know'

The man gave it some thought. 'Okay, retrieve your things..but once those doors close they will stay shut.' Mickey pivoted and stepped around Glenn. 'Mick where are you going?' 'I gotta get ma knife" 'Ill get it' he said and ran with Daryl, T-Dogg,and Rick through the doors before she could say anything. 'Thanks Glenny' she said when he came back a few minutes later. He laughed at the silly nickname. 'You will all submit to a blood test. Thats the price for admission' said the man. Rick stuck his hand out. 'Rick Grimes' the man slung the rifle onto his shoulder before he stuck out his own. 'Doctor Edwin Jenner'


	12. Chapter 12

The group all filed in with Jenner into a small elevator. 'Doctors always go 'round packin heat like that?' drawled Daryl. Mickey and Glenn shared looks with each other, trying to contain their laughter.

Carl and Sophia's eyes widened when Dr. Jenner brought out the needle needed for their blood samples. Both of their moms sat with them. When it was Mickey's turn she took a seat in front of Jenner and he immediately started small conversation. 'And you are...?' 'Mickey' 'So Mickey, don't you think its a lovely evening tonight?' she laughed. She liked him. 'I heartily agree doc. Its a perfect night for star gazing.' He chuckled with her and before she knew it, the needle was gently removed from her arm and she was free to go. 'See ya around Mickey.' 'Likewise Doc.' She blinked heavily before going over to lean against the wall with Daryl. She could feel a head ache coming on and she shut her eyes.

'You alright?' asked Daryl as he watched Glenn go for his turn. 'Yeah Im good' Mickey replied with a small smile. After everyone had their blood taken Jenner led them down a small corridor. 'Are we underground/' asked Carol from the back. 'You claustrophobic?' 'A little' Jenner smirked to himself. 'Try not to think about it' He then told the group of a rec room that the kids could enjoy, although they were told not to plug in any video games. 'The couches are comfortable, there are some rooms here but there are also cots in closets. Oh, and if you take a shower, go easy on the hot water.' Everyone stopped mid step. 'Hot water/' asked Glenn amazed. 'Thats what the man said' said T-Dogg.

Mickey stepped into the shower and let go a relaxed 'Ahhh' when the warm water kissed her skin. When she got done she walked in front of the mirror and wiped away the steam. Her eye looked a lot better, though it was still discolored. Her long chocolate hair had more of a shine to it and her cool grey eyes started back at her. She wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom and saw her clothes lying on a table. She was happy to find that they were clean..er.

She followed the sounds of loud laughing and talking and was led into what looked to be a kitchen and dining room. 'Hey there she is!' said Dale with a jolly grin. It was obvious he was a bit tipsy. Bottles of wine were being passed all around the table. There were no more seats left so Mickey went to lean against the wall in between Daryl and Glenn. She joined in the laughter that reverberated off the walls as Carl wrinkled his nose at the taste of wine. Glenn walked to the table and picked up a bottle and started reading the back. 'Oh no Glenn not you' said Daryl in a teasing manner. He almost dropped the bottle, 'Oh no I uhh.' 'Come on china man I wanna see how red ur face can get' everyone uttered a loud 'Ooooh'. Glenn then popped the top off and took a big swig straight from the bottle.

The food was good and the conversations were friendly. Suddenly Daryl appeared behind Mickeys chair carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels. 'C'mon Mickey, have a drink wit me' Lori looked up from her conversation with Dale and Andrea. 'Uh Daryl, I don't think its a good idea.' 'Oh common, a little drink aint gunna hurt 'er , wont it Mick?' She looked around the table. Many were trying to hold back smiles. 'Naw, I don't think so. Give it 'er'. He handed her the bottle and she took a small swig out of it. The amber liquid left a trail of fire down her throat but she showed no signs of discomfort. Everyone cheered for her and Daryl ruffled her hair.

She raised her glass of cranberry juice before her. 'A toast to our savior, Dr. J, and to all the hangovers that most of us will be experiencing.' Everyone raised their own glasses and laughed with her. 'Here here!' Shane took a drink and then his face became serious. He twisted around in his seat. 'So doc what happened here, wheres everyone else?' The room fell silent. 'A lot of people panicked upon the news of the outbreak. Many couldn't even face walking out the door..there was a rash number of suicides. Many...'opted out', as I like to call it. The mood dampened immediately. 'Dude you are such a buzz kill' said Glenn.

The night carried on as people began leaving the table. Soon there was only Daryl, Mickey, and Glenn. Daryl began nodding off while Glenn was clutching the table as if it was about to tip over. 'Okay obviously you both are wasted.' she helped Daryl to his feet and wrapped an arm around his waist before doing the same for Glenn with Daryl helping. Surprisingly. 'Whose room is closest?' she asked. 'Mine iz' said Glenn with droopy eyelids and a smile on his face. 'Across hall frm Dales rm .' Fortunately she passed Dale in the hallway and he was able to tell her where Glenn and T-Dogg's room was. She placed Daryl against the wall right next to the door. 'Stay here okay? Im jus gunna go inside fer a bit.' he nodded and took another swig from the bottle he was still clutching.

She walked Glenn over to his bed while T-Dogg watched with an amused expression. She smiled and rolled her eyes towards Glenn before pulling back the comforter and sitting him down. Glenn immediately started to curl into a ball on her. Quickly she untied his shoes and pulled them off his feet before removing his baseball cap and pulling the blankets over him. 'Thanks Mick' Glenn said before shutting his eyes and snoring lightly. 'G'night T-Dogg' she said as she quietly shut the door.

Daryl was till leaning against the wall with a now empty Jack Daniels bottle. He pointed out his room and she pushed the door open with her foot. he sat down on the bed and yanked off his own shoes. Mickey pulled the covers around him before quickly giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Daryl was surprised but managed out a 'Thanks darlin..hey where you sleep?' she laughed at his choice of words. 'I got a room, g'night' She walked out the room and wasn't there to see the content smile on Daryl's face before he passed out.


	13. Chapter 13

_'Lookie here boys...looks like our almighty creator sent us a little play thing.' Mickey turned towards the voice as 3 men stepped out of the thick green foliage. It had been day 2 since the outbreak of whatever it is pretty much wiped out the entire world. Or at least Atlanta, as far Mickey knew. The three men were all filthy and had twigs in their hair. The youngest looked about 19, maybe even in his early 20's. She stood staring at them, also analyzing the situation. She only had a few choices._

_A) Play it cool and try to avoid confrontation.  
_

_B) Try to make a run for it and loose them somewhere in the woods.  
_

_C) Kick some ass.  
_

_She made a list in her head. The two oldest men looked at each other, the corners of their lips twitching with a sadistic smile. The youngest was staring right at Mickey. Just staring. No expression,nothing. With an unspoken agreement they all started walking towards her as she backed up, close to the woods if she needed it. 'Now lissen 'er girly. We don't wanna hurt ya so how bout you come over here with us and We'll make it quick.' When she didn't give them an answer they began to slowly advance towards her.  
_

_She fingered the handle of one of her knives for reassurance. She waited until they crept a little bit closer until she yanked it from its holster and held it in front of her. 'Back off' she said. The youngest one let out a jackal howl of laughter. All the while Mickey was taking tiny steps backwards. Now she just had to wait. 3,2..  
_

_She pivoted on her heel and took off through the woods, hearing the heavy footfalls of her pursuer. She a few small throwing daggers from her boots and flicked them behind her, satisfied when she could hear the tear of fabric followed by a loud 'Oomph!'. She was sure she could out run them until she came crashing down when one of the guys tackled her. The other two right behind him.  
_

_'How bout we save 'er for Randall eh?' said one to the other. They beckoned the youngest forwards and he fell upon his knees and began ripping Mickey's shirt open. He was so close she could see the bright red line where her dagger sliced open a long gash across his ribcage. Arms and legs pinned down she bucked and thrashed, nearly going into a panic attack. It finally paid off when her head collided with the forehead of one of her attackers causing him to release her arm. She punched the other right in the jaw causing him to fall over as she wriggled her leg free and kicked the man named Randall in the face. Mickey hopped onto her feet and took off running. Not looking back.  
_

__Mickey woke up in a cold sweat with the blankets twisted around her legs and torso. She knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep soon so she quickly slipped out her door and into Daryls room. She was just going to sit until she felt calm again. His presence alone would help her, she was sure of. Walking across the floor she took a seat in a chair facing his bed and sunk backwards onto the slightly uncomfortable wooden back.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but left when Daryl began frequently tossing. She didn't want him to see her because she knew he would be able to read her like an open book. She peeked into the ajar door of Glenn and T-Doggs room on her way back to her own and saw them both sleeping soundly. Both were snoring much to her amusement.

TWDTWDTWD

Mickey got bored when she couldn't sleep, so she went to the kitchen to see what snacks there were. She was surprised to see Dr. Jenner sitting at the table, clearly deep in thought about something, however he glanced up when Mickey walked in. 'Couldn't sleep?' he asked her. She sat down at the table. 'Not exactly..you?' 'Ive been awake..working on things' she knew what he meant. Suddenly he got up and rummaged around in a drawer until he pulled out..crossword puzzles? He got two booklets. One for himself and one for Mickey.

'6 letter word for crazy' said Mickey aloud. 'Ah, insane' Jenner smirked at her across the table. They carried on, occasionally making short conversation. Overall it was relaxing to both. Out of the blue Jenner asked a random question.

'Mickey do you know what your blood type is?' She put down her pen.

'No..they never told me when I was in the foster system and I never went to the doctors.'

He put his hand under his chin. 'I was looking over the blood samples I took from everyone today..and I noticed that everyone else s blood was..insignificant compared to yours.'

'Insignificant?'

'Your blood type, is type O Rh Positive. Only one in three people are known..were known, to have this blood type. Your blood is very special.' Mickey recalled something she read in a book at the library.

'Because my blood is the type that can be distributed to anyone.'

'Yes' said Jenner. An idea popped into Mickeys head. 'Are you saying that my blood can somehow be used to create a cure?' Then Mickey saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen in what seemed to be a very long time. Genuine hope, happiness. 'Too bad my times almost up..' he said in a whisper. 'What?' Mickey asked.

'Nothing. Im going to go back to the lab. Feel free to stay here if you'd like.' Mickey completed her booklet as well as Jenners booklet of crosswords. She still wasn't tired at all so she went to the drawer that Jenner left open and found several more. She brought them all to the table.

TWDTWDTWD

T-Dogg made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast, as he thought he was the only one up. He walked into the kitchen and flicked the lights on and jumped a little when he saw Mickey, alert at the table with several books on the table around her, stacked one atop the other. Crosswords it read.

'Morning T-Dogg' she said,scribbling fiercely into the book. He made his way to the stove and turned it on before looking around at all the cupboards and drawers for pans. 'Morning. How long have you been here/'

'Last night. Couldn't sleep.' He nodded before walking over to a random cupboard of his choosing. Before he touched the knob Mickey spoke.

'3rd cupboard on the right hand side for pans. Eggs and everything else is in the fridge. Utensils in the drawer underneath pan cupboard.' He blinked a few times. _Damn.._ 'Oh okay thanks.' Soon he had eggs going on the stove and set out plates for everyone. Mickey had moved and organized the books into neat little piles around her feet and on the table so he could set plates for people. Funny, he hadn't even heard her moved.

More people filed into the kitchen. Mickey too absorbed in her puzzles to notice. Glenns moaning was starting to irritate her a bit. Once you get Mickey started on something, her mind sets into autopilot until whatever it is is done. And right now, she was determined to complete all 15 of the thick crossword books. She ate as she worked. She heard T-Dogg make an exclamation about Shane's neck or something, but was too engrossed to pay attention.

Daryl second to last one in, followed by Jenner. He took one look at Mickey and said 'Jesus Christ kid' Everyone else gave him looks like 'I know right' Jenner only laughed aloud. Daryl took an open seat next to her. 'Mornin kid, how long you been 'er?'

'Mornin, and last night. Couldn't sleep.' she left out the part about the conversation between her and Jenner. She felt like it wasn't her place. Everyone was startled out of their quiet conversations at the sound of a pen being thrown onto the table. They stared with wide eyes as Mickey placed the last of the puzzle books onto the already tall pile on her right hand side. She was done and gave a smile at Daryl who ruffled her hair while shaking his head. She noticed Jenner talking to Rick in the corner and knew that he had told him what he he discovered when they kept looking back at her. After breakfast everyone headed into different areas to find things to occupy themselves. Mickey settled for playing cards with Glenn, T-Dogg, and Dale while Daryl lounged against the wall and watched. Making comments now and then. Jenner was busy in the lab.

Later they all found themselves in the lab as Jenner showed them a replay of what he called TS19. Mickey felt bad for Andrea when she noticed that the talk of death was obviously bothering her. After it was over Jenner looked back at Mickey and grim realization dawned on her. He couldn't do it. He couldn't figure it out. He sunk into his seat as Vi explained how the building would explode. The air set on fire. Daryl immediately lept to the door with all the other men as Mickey walked over to Jenner and got down on his knees so he looked down on her as she spoke.

'Please. Let us out. We don't want to go like this.' He started sadly into her eyes. 'I failed. My wife...all of you..the world' 'So what if you couldn't figure it out! Its been a day! you cant give up now!' Rick watched their interaction and almost dropped the axe he was carrying when he heard. Mickey was too engrossed with Jenner that she didn't see or hear Shane stomping towards them holding a rifle.

'Mickey move!' yelled Glenn. Daryls head snapped back as he threw the axe to the ground and came and stood right in front of Shane. Pissed beyond all reason. Mickey quickly stood as Glenn grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Arguing ensued as the clock ticked down .Some like Andrea and Jackie, sat, defeated onto the floor. Finally Jenner allowed the doors to open and everyone hustled through the door. Before Rick left he grabbed him by the arm and whispered something in his ear. Jenner then Mickeys arm and handed her her drawstring. She threw her arms around him and he hugged back equally fiercely with the silent message. _I have faith for you. Fix this._

Daryl grabbed Mickeys wrist as he ran with her out the door. She saw Dale lingering behind and almost stopped dead in her tracks. 'Dont you even think about it!' said Daryl. She looked behind one more time before allowing Daryl to partially drag her away. He left her to go and try and break the glass still enclosing them. Carol clutching Sophia as she cried out 'The glass wont break?' Mickey didn't even bother trying. Shane fired a few bullets only to have them reverberate back. It wasn't until Rick set off a grenade Carol was keeping in her purse from his uniform that the glass finally shattered. Daryl lifted himself off Mickey and pushed her behind him as he fired arrows into a few walkers walking around blocking the cars. They knew the CDC was bound to explode any second so she hopped into Daryls truck just in time to see Andrea hurrying towards them with Dale in tow. Jackie had decided to stay behind with Jenner.

Daryl tucked Mickey safely into his chest as the CDC blew up. When it was over she quickly looked up and saw Glenn pulling both Andrea and Dale inside. She sighed. They made it.


	14. Chapter 14

Mickey brought her bag onto her lap for the sole purpose of having something to hold onto. She didn't know which one she feared the most, walkers, or almost being blown alive. She unknowingly gripped the bag a little tighter and was confused when she heard a soft crinkling sound. She opened the top enough to peek inside, Daryl was too focused on the road to pay attention. There wasn't enough light to make out the words on the thick creamy papers neatly rolled up inside her bag. Thats when it hit her. These were the documents of information that Jenner was working on for a cure. And she was somehow supposed to be a major key point to it.

Daryl glanced over at a very pale Mickey who was biting her lip, staring at nothing. Pure instinct made him shoot out his free arm and lightly stroke the hair out of her face before bringing it back to his side.

'You alrigh' Mick?'

'Huh? Oh yeah Im fine, jus a bit spooked I guess.' He nodded. 'We made it though, we're gunna be fine'

She shifted her gaze out the badly she wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure if she was supposed to, she would have to talk to Rick about it.

'Jackie...Dr. J..' He sighed and scratched his temple.

'They made a decision, whether it was the right one I cant tell ya' Mickey's foot stepped on something. She bent down to pick it up to see it was some type of CD case. Daryl glanced over and scoffed aloud. 'Merle threw a hissy fit when he couldn't find that"

'Is it some type of mixed CD or somethin?' He nodded. Mickey smiled to herself, finally, access to some music. 'Do ya think I can put it in?' He gave her the okay and she laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes when the Muppet's theme song started playing. She looked over at Daryl to see the corners of his mouth twitching into an almost smile. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and let himself chuckle along with Mickey.

It was almost afternoon when the caravan was stopped. Mickey and Daryl figured everyone else had run out of fuel. Daryl pulled Merle's motorcycle out the bed of the rusty truck and rolled it over to the Winnebago to see Dale, Glenn, and Mickey all hunched over the front. Dale pulled his head out slightly dirty and let Mickey move in to once again re- tape the radiator hose, also making some new adjustments so it could last longer. Daryl shook his head. This girl was just full of surprises.

Rick had Shane and T-Dogg walk to a gas station just up the road and everyone else was up and about stretching their cars were parked on the side of the road while they made a small camp in the foliage until they were ready to set out again. Mickey wanted to practice her throwing some more so she went a bit deeper into the forest and carved a target onto a tree. Just as she was about to throw her first dagger she heard footsteps and automatically knew they belonged to Daryl.

'How'd ya know it was me kid?'

'Your footsteps are more..I dunno ..graceful than everyone else. Like Glenns are really soft and quick.' He leaned against the tree she was practicing on. And only flinched slightly when he heard the knife whiz by him. 'Where do ya think it landed Daryl? On the target or out?' He smirked 'Please, it probably landed waay out of bounds.' he was teasing her but looked to see anyways.

'Damn, right in the middle'

'Every time, not to be too cocky' They enjoyed some bonding time with each other as Mickey tried to show Daryl how to throw and laughed at him when he got frustrated with it. Suddenly they could hear Ricks voice sound through the trees. 'Daryl! Mickey! Were gunna head out now!' She grabbed her knives out of their various places on the trunk and lightly punched Daryl on the arm. When they stepped out onto the road again Daryl hopped onto his bike and rode it to the very front of the line and looked at Mickey with what could be a tiny smile.

'Too scared ta ride wit me?' she cocked an eyebrow before climbing onto the back of the bike. She noticed Glenn looked a bit..worried was it? It was Mickeys first time on a bike and she was enjoying it very much. She liked the way the ground seemed to rush up beside her and how the wind whipped her hair around. It was a short ride, so it seemed when Daryl slowed the bike down as they approached the highway. Overturned and abandoned cars were everywhere, some even holding dead carcasses of the once living. The caravan was stopped as Daryl rounded back to the Winnebago.

'You see a way through?' asked Dale. Daryl looked back before nodding his head indicating Dale to follow him. They weaved their way through the maze of cars before the Winnebago gave a little screech before emitting a fountain of steam. Mickey jumped slightly before hopping off with Daryl and making her way over to Glenn who gave her a pat on the back in acknowledgement. Rick got everyone's attention and told them to scavenge what they could, despite the obvious distaste Lori showed.

'This is a graveyard, I don't feel comfortable with it.' Daryl made his way to a random car and popped open the back before pulling out random articles such as clothes and a small backpack. 'We could use some o this stuff' Rick nodded and everyone went their separate ways to find what they could. Daryl and T-Dogg left to siphon gas. Glenn worked with Dale on the Winnebago while Mickey raided different cars. So far she had found a case of bullets in the front seat next to a splayed out body of some person. She tried not to look too much as she searched for a gun. She was almost to the point of giving up until a flash of silver caught her eye. Unfortunately it was in the waistband of the dead body (she had already poked it with her longest knife to be sure). Swiftly yanking it out she looked it over.

It was a Smith and Wesson revolver with a wooden grip. It was truly a beautiful piece, she thought. She decided to keep it for shooting practice with Rick and pocketed 7 bullets before taking the rest of the box back to him. She couldn't find him so she went to Shane instead and watched in amusement as he bathed himself with water from a big delivery truck.

'Its like bein baptized man' she heard him tell Glenn. Mickey and Shane hardly talked, and she still had her suspicions about him, but his face still looked cheerful from his 'bath' as she walked up to him.

'Find somethin good?' 'Yep' she handed him the box of bullets and his face broke into a smile. He clapped her on the shoulder. 'Good work' She purposely left out the gun she found along with the 7 bullets she pocketed. She was about to grab a sleeping bag when she heard her name being urgently whispered. She whipped her head around. Dale was lying flat on the R.V ushering her to get down. Thats when she saw them. A hoard of walkers. She ducked under a car that was a few away from the one Glenn and Shane were under. She and Glenn made eye contact as feet shuffled past them, kicking up clouds of dirt. Mickey clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from breathing so loudly.

All they could do was wait. The group of walkers had passed leaving behind a few stragglers. A walker tripped and fell right beside the car Mickey was under and she prayed to God that it wouldn't turn its head- too late. Gnashing teeth snapped towards her face as she scooted further to the side luring it in enough to stab it right through the face. She shook her head at Glenn who had wide eyes and was gripping a big rifle. Suddenly she heard screams and rolled out from underneath the car to see Sophia being chased into the woods by two walkers. Lori was holding a frantic Carol as Rick leaped over the railing and went after them. Mickey was about to follow him when a strong arm gripped her around the middle holding her back.

She turned around to see Glenn who shook his head. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her. 'Mickey?' Daryl half shouted as he dragged T-Dogg back to the safety of the others. 'Over here' he handed T-Dogg to Dale and Shane and walked over to her before ruffling her hair and bringing her in for a quick one armed hug. 'Where's Rick?' he asked. 'Sophia got chased into the woods. Rick went after 'em.' Mickey sat with Carol, Andrea, and Lori on the railing hoping for the return of both . It seemed like forever until Rick emerged..with no Sophia. Carol cried out as Mickey looked down.

A small search party was organized for Sophia that consisted of Rick, Shane, Daryl, and Glenn. Everyone was surprised when Rick went over to Mickey and asked her to come. Neither Daryl or Glenn were too happy, but knew that she could take care of herself if need be. Rick led them to the spot where he said he had told Sophia to hide.

'I left her right here and told he that if I didn't make it back to run and keep the sun on her left shoulder.'

'Well, just think , she's a scared lil girl..how much of what you told her do ya think stuck?' asked Shane. Daryl was examining the ground. 'Hey short round, mind movin out the way' Mickey could hear him mutter 'Korean' under his breath before ushering him to stand beside her so they both could be out of Daryl's way. He followed the tracks up the embankment where Glenn helped pull him up and went back to looking at the ground before coming to a stop.

'She was doin jus fine until right here, the the tracks veer off that way' he pointed in the opposite direction.

'What could have made her do that?' wondered Mickey aloud. 'Walker?' Glenn chimed in. Daryl shook his head. 'Maybe..I see other footprints.' They searched for a while longer until Rick sent Shane back with Glenn and Mickey. She wanted to protest but knew that now wasn't the time, so instead she obliged and headed back. When the three approached the guard rail Lori and Carol immediately lept up. Shane explaining to them how Rick and Daryl stayed behind to look some more. Glenn and Mickey retired to the Winnebago where Dale handed each of them a granola bar.

Mickey decided to sit with T-Dogg to keep him company while she waited for Daryl and Rick. She asked to look at his arm and cringed slightly when she saw how deep the cut was. She pulled out an orange from her bag and made T-Dogg eat it. 'Gotta have that Vitamin C now' she had said causing T-Dogg to laugh at her.

It was almost maybe a few hours till night time with no Daryl or Rick. The group started to get antsy. Finally when Mickey felt like she couldn't take the wait any longer two figures emerged from the green and stopped at the guard rail. Blood was on the front of both their shirts. Rick explained with a pained expression to Carol how they would have to wait to search again the next day. Carol had to sit down from the grief. Carol then started to blame Rick for leaving her in the woods by herself. ' 's not his fault, Carol' said Mickey in a soft voice. Rick turned on his heel to take a walk as Carol sobbed.


	15. Chapter 15

Mickey paused in the entryway of the Winnebago to hear audible sniffles and choked sobs. She contemplated going inside, but didn't want to intrude on Carols grieving time. She made up her mind and wiped off her oily hands from a car she was working on and stepped inside quietly. She perched on the end of the bed as Carol turned around to face her, trying in vain to wipe the river of tears from her face.

'Dont' said Mickey as she lightly gripped her hand. 'It'll make you feel better.' All the crying had eventually, and surprisingly quickly put Carol to sleep. Even in slumber she still had wrinkles on her forehead from stress. Mickey got up and placed a blanket over Glenn who had fallen asleep at the table. T-Dogg was leaned up against the window sweating slightly.

'You need anythin T-Man?' asked Mickey. He smiled at the nickname. 'Naw Im good.' ' Hey by the way have you seen anyone else? Rick and Daryl more specifically?' His eyes parted a bit. 'I think I saw them head up a ways.' She could see that he was tired, so she bid him goodnight before exiting out the door and leaning up against the side. It was a cooler night in Georgia. Comfortable, yet goose bump inducing when the wind blew. Mickey headed back inside to grab a light blanket before silently scaling the RV ladder and walk up behind Dale who was sitting in his lawn chair.

He jumped, slightly startled when he felt something being draped over him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that it was a light fleece blanket. Mickey sat down cross legged beside him while he rested his binoculars on his lap. 'Had me scared for a second miss Mickey.' she laughed lightly and feigned innocence. 'Who me? Why I never thought that Dale Horvath, who is currently in possession of a rather large rifle, would be scared of lil o' me.'

The night carried on, the two talking about random things every now and then. They talked about Sophia,and even Dales deceased wife. She was currently lying on her back stretched out with her arm under her head when Dale asked her what she missed the most from her old life. She closed her eyes in thought before saying

'My guitar' Dale looked at her. 'Really now? Well maybe one day We'll all get a chance to hear ya.' Mickey sighed before saying aloud.

'Thats all I've ever wanted.' Dale looked sadly at the young girl next to him. He had payed attention to her story back at the campfire of how she never had a permanent home, and didn't know who her biological parents were. As if reading his thoughts she said

'The only thing I know about my biological...father, was that his last name was Holiday. A friend of mine from the library found out for me. It even turns out that the famous Doc Holiday is my great great great grandfather.' No more words were said for a while, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Dale broke the silence.

'Daryl seems to be more open with you than with every one else..I remember back at the quarry, I was keeping watch and saw you both down by the water your first day with us.' She smiled fondly at the memory. 'You saw that?' 'Sure did,although I was too far away to hear anything...your bond with him is a very beautiful thing.'

'Hey Dale, can I tell you something?' 'Sure thing' She propped herself up on her elbow. 'If my parents just randomly showed up, right her, right now and asked me to go with them..I wouldn't. Because you guys are my family' Dale smiled warmly and softly ruffled her hair before both heard Daryl murmuring something. The sound was getting closer. Suddenly he was in front of the Winnebago about to enter the door. Mickey was flat on her stomach so he couldn't see her.

Inside, Daryl tread softly across the floor passing a sleeping Andrea, Glenn, T-Dogg, and surprisingly Carol. The one person he was looking for wasn't inside. His mind scanned through all the possible places Mickey could be before he allowed panic to slowly fill his gut. He walked back outside and yelled up to Dale. 'You seen Mickey?' he lowered the binoculars before Mickey's head appeared in front of his own , long hair hanging down from gravity, causing Daryl to back up sharply. Mickey's lips twitched until she couldn't take it anymore and started laughing loudly. Remembering the people asleep,she tried covering her mouth up with no avail.

Dale watched amused as Daryl smirked before climbing up the ladder halfway and hoisting Mickey up by the waist before swinging her onto his shoulder. He hopped back onto the ground before holding her by the ankles and watched through the moonlight how her face slowly turned red. She was still laughing and pointed up to him. 'You-you- HAHA-youre face! HAHAHA' By now everyone was awake and silently filed out from where they were sleeping to watch the interaction between the two. Even Carol watched through the window inside the Winnebago and felt her heart burn with desire for her daughter. Jealously that these two people were happy while her baby was out there somewhere.

'So ya think ma face is funny?' asked Daryl in a playful manner. He still had her suspended by the ankles. She used both hands to clutch at the sides of her shirt to keep from lifting while her knives stayed firmly in their place in their holsters. The onlookers watched on, amused. If Daryl knew they were watching he didn't care. Rick ruffled Carl's hair as he silently chuckled at Mickeys misfortune. Glenn wiped the sleep out his eye but was smiling nonetheless. Shane, however, looked on with a slight grimace.

'Ur dang right I think so. Awh man Im sure if I looked there would be burn marks from how fast you skidded!' This caused Dale to double over with laughter while everyone asked him what happened. And by the time he was halfway through the short story everyone else was laughing too, even Shane managed a chuckle. Back and forth Daryl and Mickey teased each other until Mickey stopped in mid sentence and her body went completely slack. Her mouth slightly open. Daryl followed by Glenn was the first to go into panic mode. Glenn ran and took a hold of her upper badly by the armpits while Daryl got her feet, and they layed her on the hood of a close car. Daryl felt his eyes grow wide as he could almost not hear the people around him.

She was carried (by Daryl) inside the Winnebago to the couch where Glenn satin front of her and Daryl stooped beside her head. She was still unconscious. 'Why int' she wakin up?' he asked of Rick. 'Might've been from the way she was held. All the blood to her head.' Daryl sucked the inside of his felt bad. 'She'll come around. It wasn't ur fault' His soft voice seemed to have little to no affect as he sat down on the floor beside Glenn. Everyone watched as he slowly reached up his hand to grasp her smaller one. There was something in his eyes that night in the way he looked at her, and it was something that could probably be described by a thousand adjectives. What was it? Concern? Reverence?...

Deep down they all kept coming to the same conclusion. If he didn't already..Daryl Dixon was beginning to love this 13 years old girl.


	16. Chapter 16

Mickey woke up around half an hour after she had fainted. From the lack of sunlight inside the RV she could see it was still dark. She would have to ask Dale what time it was. A grip on her hand tightened and she turned her head to see a tired looking Daryl with dark circles under his eyes, she gave him a goofy smile that made the load on his chest lighten. She seemed alright. 'I think that was a new record' she said in reference to being dangled. Daryl made her sit up slowly and she swung her legs around,giving a quick,but not too hard kick to Glenns face. He woke up and rubbed the spot. She gave him a little noogie.

'My bad Glenn' He blinked before reaching up to pull her to the floor beside him and gave her a brotherly hug.

'You had us really freaked out .' Daryl stood up and went outside to tell Rick that she was okay. She pointed to the door 'How long has he been up?And what exactly happened?' Glenn rubbed his eyes fiercely as he tried to stifle a yawn. 'From what I remember he's been up this whole time. As for you, Rick thinks you passed out from all that blood goin to your head' he gave her a flick to the forehead. She stood and hoisted Glenn up with her and looked around. Carol and Andrea were asleep. Mickey wondered what everyone else was doing as they stepped outside into the chill air. As soon as her foot touched the ground Dale appeared beside her and lightly gripped her shoulder.

'How're ya feeling?' She gave him a pat on the back and a warm smile 'Im feelin jus fine Dale' He smiled at her before going to check on T-Dogg. 'Mickey' she turned her head and saw Daryl who motioned for her to come towards him. Rick and Shane parted a little so she could fit in the tiny circle they had formed. No doubt talking about plans to find Sophia. 'Sorry fer wakin up everyone..and er ya know, passin out and stuff' Rick eased into a tired smile. 'No need. I think under the circumstances we all needed that little laugh. A re you feelin better?' 'Lots' He walked off then with Shane behind her and sat next to Lori. Mickey noticed how Carl seemed to be wide awake as he stared into the faint line of trees.

She hopped onto the guard rail next to Daryl. They sat in a comfortable silence until they heard Ricks voice. 'We got a few hours till sunrise. The rest of us are gunna get some sleep.' They both voiced their okays before turning their attention back to the forest in front of them. Backs turned against the world. 'You sure ur feelin alright?' asked Daryl. 'Positive.. how's ur heart rate?' he scoffed at her before leaning over to lightly shove her to the side'Whadd'ya think shes doin now?' Mickey asked. 'Probly holed up somewhere scared. I remember gettin lost, I was younger'n her though' 'How'd you find ur way back?' 'Merle by then had taught me how to track and hunt. How ta use the landscape as a bookmark. Eventually I found a trail I was familiar with and made it back.'

Mickey had convinced Daryl to get a little rest. She lay with her hands folded on her stomach on the windshield of a car and turned her head in the direction of the rising sun. She had never seen a sunset before.

TWDTWDTWD

Rick had decided that they were going to form one big search party for Sophia. T-Dogg had to stay behind because of his arm and Dale had opted out to keep him company. They walked in a long line with Rick and Daryl at the head while Shane took towards the middle. Mickey brought up the rear in front of Glenn. She was about to reach in her bag and split an orange with Carl until she realized she had given it to T-Dogg to help him feel better. From her place in the back she watched as Shane ruffly pushed Carl away who had tried to start a conversation. What was up his ass? He loved Carl.

The line abruptly stopped as everyone fanned out to see what had caused the lack of movement. It was a tent. Daryl and Shane looked to Rick as he looked at everyone else before motioning Carol forward. In a soft voice he said If she's in there, ur's is the first voice she should hear.' Slowly she stepped closer and called out in a tentative voice

'Sophia? Sophia its mommy.' No one answered as Daryl started circling the tent. Holding up his hand to Rick said that he would go in shielding his brow, he peeked inside before swiftly unzipping the entrance and stepping inside. Seconds later he stepped back out. 'Not in there. Some guy 'Opted out' aint that what Jenner called it? They all let the disappointment sink in before they could hear..bells? Mickey's head snapped up at the sound. 'If we can hear it maybe Sophia can too.' said Rick 'Or maybe she's ringin em herself' Shane and the others began to sprint towards the sound and stopped as they busted into a large field. Grey specks dotted here and there while a small church stood at the front.

Rick, Shane, and Daryl crouched by the doors while Mickey maneuvered her way to the front, a good distance from the door just in case anything popped out. She pulled out a dagger and nodded to Rick before he kicked open the doors. They were all stunned by the eerie sight before them. About 5 walkers sat scattered in the pews..just sitting. Suddenly they all simultaneously twisted their heads around to welcome their next meal.

_Thwunk _went Mickeys dagger as she sent it slicing through the air and into the forehead of a walker, the impact causing its head to snap back viciously. The body dropped to the floor, the motion causing everyone else to go into shoved his crossbow into Glenns arms as he, Rick, and Shane traded out their guns for more quiet weapons before going to town on the remaining 4 walkers. They all came out, Mickey included, blood splattered. The bells were still going off and they all ran around to the side of the church to see Glenn rip something out of a small metal box.

'Timer. Its on a timer' said Daryl panting heavily. Carol sucked in a breath before sauntering inside the church with Lori following. Daryl stood with Mickey and Glenn at the door frame as they watched Carol get down on her knees in front of the statue of Jesus. She drifted like a ghost out the door when she was done. Daryl suddenly walked up the aisle before coming to a stop

'Yo, J.C. You takin requests?'

There was still plenty of time left before it got dark out,and Rick decided to split up the group. 'Are you sure bout that?' asked Daryl. Rick nodded. 'Me an Shane wanna look around this area more. They rest of you will go with Daryl. Mickey couldn't help a smile as Carl stood his ground before Rick agreed to let him join he and Shane. Lori kissed the top of his head before giving Rick a hug and a kiss. She handed him a gun to carry and he looked down at it, concerned more for his wife's safety than his own. 'Here' Daryl handed Lori a gun as Andrea audibly scoffed. He nodded to Rick and the divided group split in their separate ways.

Mickey walked behind Daryl as he led the small group consisting of Mickey, Carol, Andrea, Glenn, and Lori through the woods. No one really spoke as they didnt want to interrupt Daryl's intense concentration on the ground. Beads of sweat barely bothered Mickey, nonetheless Glenn handed her a bottle of water.

_Crack. _'What the hell?' asked Mickey aloud. The group stopped. Lori looked a bit paler. Daryl remained impassive. All of a sudden Mickey stumbled a bit before leaning up against a tree. 'Mick you okay?' asked Daryl and Glenn at the same time. She had her head bent down before nodding..and then throwing up water on the side of the tree. Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder as he quickly walked towards her. Mickeys nose had started to bleed heavily too.

'Fuck' Daryl said. Mickey, still leaned up on the tree tore off the bottom of her shirty before using it to mop up the blood on her face. 'We need to rest. We've been at it a few hours.' Daryl nodded and everyone besides him took a seat on the ground. Glenn slinging an arm around Mickeys shoulders. The rest of their small group watched with interest as Daryl used some water to wash off the remaining blood on Mickeys face. He stooped down and put a calloused hand on her forehead. It was clammy and slick with sweat. He didnt notice the almost purple shadows under her eyes.

'You want it? Go ahead take it. Im sick o the looks ur givin me' they heard Lori tell Andrea as she scoffed. Mickey instinctively touched the place where she had the pistol she found. How no one noticed it last night was a mystery. Maybe it was too dark. Lori took a swig of water before turning to Carol. 'Honey, I cant imagine the pain you are goin through and I would do anything in my power ta stop it. But you have got to stop blamin Rick. Its in ur face every time you look at 'im. I don't know who else would've run into the forest after her the way he did.' Lori ranted a bit more before Andrea handed back her gun. 'We should keep moving.' 'Why just one gunshot though..' Lori mumbled. 'Im sure they're jus fine' he looked back at Mickey with concern evident in his eyes. 'You alright Mick?' 'Yeah..I don't know what that was' 'When's the last time ya ate?' asked Andrea. Mickey shrugged. They kept walking,Daryl frequently looking back over his shoulder at Mickey. 'I've got her' mouthed Glenn.

A loud scream caused everyone to stop mid step. Andrea was missing. 'Andrea?' yelled Lori. Daryl was in the lead and would have gotten to Andrea sooner, but a young woman on a horse smacked the walker with a baseball batt, giving Andrea the opportunity to get up. 'Lori Grimes?' the woman asked. Lori stepped forward. 'There's been an accident you gotta come with me.' 'Accident what accident?' Mickey asked. 'Look ya gotta come with me now Carl's been shot. Follow the road until ya see a mailbox and a farm,the names Greene' That did the trick. Lori practically leaped onto the horse behind her. 'What're ya doin? We don't even know 'er you can not get on that horse.' It didnt make a difference, they were already gone. Glenn gaping at the retreating figures.

When they returned to 'camp' they had to explain to Dale all about what happened. Dale also explained how T-Dogg's arm injury was takin its toll on him. Daryl scoffed before walking over to his motorcycle. 'Why didn ya say something sooner? I got ma brothers stash. First class to.' He started pulling out random bottles. He tossed one to Dale.

It was decided that Glenn was to take T-Dogg to the supposed farm to get assistance. 'We need to re connect with our people, find out whats goin on' Dale had said. Daryl had pulled Dale to the side and told him about Mickey's sudden illness in the woods before they both turned to her. 'I want you ta go too.' Her eyes widened a bit. 'As in leave without you?' 'We'll all meet up again eventually. The lady seemed legit. It'll be safer.'Mickey nodded and he ruffled her hair before pulling her into a hug. He didnt care who was watching.

Mickey sat in the backseat of Carol's Cherokee as Glenn and sunk into the drivers seat with T-Dogg riding shotgun. As they pulled away she rolled the window down and waved to Daryl who looked on with a sad expression before doing something odd. his hand flat over his heart before outstretching it towards her.


	17. Chapter 17

* At the highway*

'You could've just given her something from the bag' said Dale as he looked through his binoculars, occasionally eying his little surprise for Mickey that sat in the lawn chair. He could hear Daryl scoff below. 'Woulda if I knew whats wrong wit 'er' Dale smiled. That was the answer he was expecting. 'When are we gunna head up ta this farm?' 'Carol emerged from the vehicle. 'Im not leavin till we find my baby. As much as Daryl wanted to haul ass to everyone else to figure out what the hell was going on, he knew that it would be wrong to just abandon Sophia. Even though they all knew that they couldn't stay on the highway forever, they all agreed that they would stay for the night and head out bright and early the next day.

*With Mickey, Glenn, and T-Dogg*

The ride to the farm was bumpy due to the pure dirt road they were driving on. T-Dogg sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed and sweating heavily, leaning his head against the window. Mickey leaned up to grasp his free hand. 'Hang on T-Man' He smiled a little in response, so she know he could hear her. Glenn had both hands clutched on the steering wheel with the rifle on his lap. They followed the road until they pulled onto the last stretch where the tires crunched under gravel. A driveway.

'Whoa' said Mickey as she stared at the pure beauty before her. Acres and acres of hilly landscape, with a large mountain in the background filled her vision. She could see a large colonial style house, the white standing out against the darkness. Glenn pulled the car in front and everyone hopped out, he and Mickey supporting T-Dogg who didnt look to good. The baseball batt wielding lady that came for Lori in the woods rushed down from the porch and escorted them inside. She said her name was Maggie. As T-Dogg was getting his arm stitched up Mickey spotted Shane sitting at the dining table.

'How's Carl?' she asked as she and Glenn took seats next to him. Shane looked up and ran his hand over his now shaved to the scalp head. 'Still in surgery.' 'Where's Rick?' Shane pointed to the backdoor. Mickey headed outside and saw Rick leaning against the railing with Lori behind him, arms wrapped around his middle. It was a sentimental moment that caused Mickey's ears to burn red. Her foot stepped on a weak spot of wood as she tried to sneak back inside. Lori and Rick turned around and gave her weary smiles.

'Im real sorry 'bout Carl. How're you guys doin?' Rick gestured her to step outside and she sat on the steps. 'Better' 'Thats good.' she turned her head towards him and the back porch light shone on her face where he could see a big smear of faint red under her nose. 'Nosebleed' Mickey said. He nodded and she went back inside to see Glenn attempt conversation with Maggie. It was a bit obvious that he liked her, Mickey didnt blame him though. Maggie was very pretty. She sat in a chair and allowed herself to drift off for the moment.

'Theres a guest room she can have' Maggie pointed to a sleeping Mickey who had her brows slightly scrunched . Glenn picked her up bridal style and followed Maggie into a room where he layed her down and tucked her in like she did for him at the CDC. 'She your sister?' asked Maggie. Glenn smiled 'You could say that'.

TWDTWDTWD

*At the Highway*

Daryl lied flat on his back inside the Winnebago staring at the ceiling. Every time he shut his eyes, the sounds of Carol sobbing and Andrea fiddling with her gun seemed enhanced. _S__crew this_ he thought. He got up and slung his crossbow over his shoulder before turning to Carol. ''M gunna go look fer the lil girl' He was surprised, and slightly aggravated, when Andrea followed him outside, flashlight in hand. They alerted Dale to where they were going and walked into the forest. Daryl wasn't really one for big conversation, especially when he was trying to track, however Andrea kept saying little things here and there.

Daryl eventually ended up telling her about the story he told Mickey about him getting lost in the woods, although he left out the part of him having to wipe his bottom with poison oak. Andrea snickered in the darkness. They ended up stumbling on a walker dangling from a tree with its legs clearly eaten off. Daryl kept making references to it causing Andrea to vomit. Sweet revenge.

The next morning they selected a car and painted a message for Sophia telling her to stay on the highway should she stumble upon it again, as well as leaving plenty of food and drink they had scavenged. Daryl hopped onto his bike and led the way to the farm, wondering what Mickey was doin.

WHO'SGEAREDUPFORSEASON3?

Mickey slept for a total of 20 minutes, more of a nap you could say. Hell, probably not even that. She didn't know why she couldn't sleep anymore. Most likely it was because of all the stress, she also had nightmares on some occasions. She slid out the bed and found Glenn at the table eating a sandwich. She crept up behind him and tweaked his ear, causing him to gasp.

'Thought you were asleep'

'I don't sleep anymore' He stopped eating and gave her a quizzical look before dusting his hands off on his jeans and shoving the plate towards her. She finished the other half and hopped from the table and out the door with Glenn behind her. They walked around the field out front before heading back inside to sit on the couch. Mickey leaning up against Glenn's shoulder.

'Soo what was up with you in the woods?' he asked

'Probably jus dehydrated or somethn, as fer the nosebleed, I dunno where that came from, aint never had one before.' Rick suddenly walked across the room they were in and sat at the dining table, Maggie had gone outside causing Glenn to follow after her. He ruffled her hair before leaving. Now was the time. She took a seat next to him. 'I know that under the circumstances, now would probly not be a good time to bring this up. But its been buggin me. I know Jenner told you about my blood type and what it could possibly achieve.' Rick looked at her with soft eyes.

Mickey checked to make sure they were alone before pulling the papers out of her drawstring. Rick immediately leafed through them with a shocked expression. 'He left you his research papers?' he asked incredulously. 'I think he wants me to try and figure it out. At least, I cant think of a better reason as to why he would give me all this.' He handed her the documents to tuck safely back inside her bag. 'What do I do? Who do I tell? It feels wrong leaving Daryl and Glenn completely oblivious.' Rick sat back in the chair 'I think its best for now to keep this between you and me..I think Jenner thought that eventually if we survived long enough we would meet up with other doctors who would have an ideas to how to cure all this'

Mickey frowned at the idea of having to keep it a secret, it was just another load to pile on top of her.


	18. Chapter 18

'Sophia..is she okay?' came a weak voice from inside the room. Mickey paused mid step and softly leaned against the door. 'Yeah, shes fine' she could hear the groaning of the mattress springs and knew that Rick was about to get up. She eased on by and went to take a bath. In grimy water she sat with her knees pulled up to her. Hopefully Daryl and the others are okay..

Mickey stepped out from behind the shower curtain and saw that her clothes had dried in the direct sunlight from when she had washed them out in the tub. She couldn't risk anyone else in the house seeing her pistol, and sure as hell didnt want anyone touching her belt of knives. The front door slammed and footsteps filed out into the hall. She quickly got dressed,being careful to properly hide her gun, and walked out the bathroom door,securing her belt as she went.

'Is he okay?' her footsteps quickened at the sound of Carols voice. She pushed open the door and stepped onto the porch and was relieved to see that the rest of the group had made it. Carol had Lori in a warm embrace, although her eyes were still rimmed red. She scanned the yard for the one person she was looking for until she found him. With a smile she leaped over the railing and briskly walked towards Daryl who gave her a big hug followed by a hair ruffle. It seemed to be customary now. Rick then cleared his voice before introducing the rest of the group to Herschel and his family. Dale and Daryl left to move their vehicles farther from the house.

'You feelin better kid?' asked Daryl as he and Mickey walked around through the fields. 'Yeah, the bath helped' she stopped walking when she heard a _thud_ accompanied by the absence of her gun from its secret place. 'Damn..' Daryl stooped to pick the gun u. 'Where'd ya get this? He didnt look mad, maybe surprised, above all else. 'Found it on the highway..' she reached deep into her pockets and pulled out the bullets she had kept and dropped them into Daryl's palm. She was shocked when he glanced from the gun to the bullets, then to her before laughing loudly.

It was a side of him she hadn't seen before. His eyes crinkled around the edges and his face turned red slowly. She just watched with a silly grin, not wanting to disrupt the moment. Once he calmed down he ruffled her hair before tossing an arm around her shoulders. 'Well damn kid..well since you found it, it makes it urs. Jus try not ta shoot urself' 'Thanks, I'm gunna use it for shooting practice with Rick.' They headed towards the group of people by a tree. There was a pile of something on the ground, upon closer inspection, turned out to be rocks.

Rick had told Mickey and Glenn about Otis and Shane traveling to the high school to retrieve a respirator that would save Carl's life and was needed for his surgery. Shane had come back with only a messed up ankle..but Otis..Patricia silently weeped with Maggie and Beth on either side of her. Herschel stood behind the pile, facing everyone else and gave a sermon in Otis's honor. One by one his family members stepped forward to place another rock onto the pile. Patricia managed to choke out a plea to Shane to recount his final moments with Otis.

'We were down to our las rounds. I was limpin pretty bad..' the more he got into the story the more Mickey began to notice the look of hysteria in his eyes that was only partially masked. She shifted uneasily and Daryl glanced down at her, following her line of sight. He too, noticed the look. Shane ended his speech and stepped forward to place the last rock onto Otis' memorial.

Once the groups 'camp' was set up Rick talked to Herschel and with help from Maggie, talked about a search group for Sophia. Mickey munched on a peach Maggie had tossed her as she listened to the plans. Daryl came over and gave her hair a ruffle before offering to go out on his own to search for Sophia. Rick needed to stay with Carl and Lori, and Shane's ankle was to messed up. 'Can I go with ya?' Mickey asked Daryl he nodded his head no firmly. 'Stay 'er, lil one. Maybe next time' she didnt argue, which Daryl was grateful for. The sly smile Rick was giving him was starting to get on his nerves.

'Go talk to 'er' she said bluntly. Glenn was taken aback. 'What?' Mickey smiled. 'Its real obvious ya got a thing fer 'er. Jus go talk to 'er. Make friendly conversation.' Glenn gulped and wiped the sweat off his brow, all the while checking out Maggie from behind as she plucked more fruit off the trees. 'Okay okay Ill go' He pinched her cheek as he walked past her and she playfully slapped his hand away.

Daryl was already long gone on his one man search party, and Glenn and left with Maggie riding a horse to go on a supply run. She heard whacking from the side of the house to see Shane hacking away at logs of wood with sweat cascading down his face. In all honesty, she wanted so badly to crack up whenever she saw him in his too big overalls and plaid shirt. Instead she went to the kitchen and got a tall glass of water with plenty of ice in ti before cautiously approaching him. He leaned on the axe and wiped his forehead.

She handed the glass to him 'I figured you could use this' He hesitated a few seconds before taking the cup and took a few long gulps. Then he smiled. 'Sure did. Thanks Mickey' she smiled before walking away. Maybe all he needed was a few kind acts here and there.

She sat down to dinner with a happy Rick and Lori among the rest of the group. Carl was getting stronger by the day. Come to think of it, she thought, it was if a weight had been eased from everyone around her since coming to the farm. Daryl had laughed aloud for Christs sake! Speaking of whom, Daryl walked through the door as soon as everyone was served. The absence of Sophia answered everyone's unasked question. Mickey snickered a few times at the sound of crinkling paper behind her. She covered it up with a cough whenever Herschel looked at her though. When everyone was finished Dale turned to Mickey. 'I have a surprise for you think ur gunna like'

Everyone followed the two out the door and waited outside the RV as Mickey followed Dale inside. She almost cried at the sight. It was a guitar, that looked to be in perfect condition. She had to bite back tears as she hugged Dale who had a wide smile on his face. She ran her fingers across the strings and was elated to find it was still in tune.

'Whats takin so long?' Daryl muttered. He put one foot on the ladder when Dale appeared with Mickey behind him. Holding a ..guitar? Everyone was stunned to say the least. Which brings us to the front porch where Mickey sat with the guitar on her lap and awaiting faces around her. 'Now's ur time to be heard Mick' said Dale softly. No one else knew what he meant. She took a breath before playing a quick diddy that warmed her fingers shot up. She was just full of surprises.


	19. Chapter 19

Her fast paced little diddy evolved into the intro to 'Jack and Diane' . Daryl whistling at her as she sang. She had a good voice..a really good voice. He clapped for her with the others as she finished the last note. The group was fascinated with Mickey's musical talent, she played several different songs for them, sometimes taking requests. Almost everyone had tears in their eyes as she sang 'For he first time' by The Script. Daryl leaned against the railing , more relaxed than hes ever been as she played and sang Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow is a long time'

Mickey was leaning back into the porch swing with her eyes closed . The music practically flowed out of her. Daryl found himself closing his eyes as well. Her voice was haunting, beautiful..pure. Everyone could identify with the lyrics, and the soft plucking of the guitar strings was enough to make everyone forget, if only for a night, that there days were numbered. 'I wish Carl could hear this' whispered Lori to Rick. He stroked a piece of hair from her face. 'I know'.

Everyone peeked from closed eyelids when the music stopped, and smiled at the sight. Mickey was passed out, her grip slightly slack on the guitar, head lolling to the side. Glenn picked up the guitar while Daryl picked her up like a little kid. Her head in the crook of his neck. He reached out with one hand and grabbed the guitar before nodding his head to everyone and heading off to the tents. He placed Mickey gently on the floor with the guitar next to her bag and pulled a blanket over her..for the first time he noticed the lavender colored rings around her eyes.

Mickey woke up feeling better than ever. Last night was her first full night of sleep since the outbreak. She walked outside her tent and saw Rick lining up cans and bottles over in the field. He stood up and motioned her over. 'Time for shooting practice' he held out a gun to her, and his eyebrows raised when she pulled her pistol from her back pocket. Daryl had showed her how to load it up and clean it. 'Well damn' Shane walked over to them and saw Mickey holding the pistol. 'Were did you get that?' he sounded mad. 'Found it on the highway.' 'Why didnt you give it to one of us.' Rick put up a hand. 'Calm down Shane, if she found it, its hers.' Daryl happened to hear shouting and walked over to the three. Mickey giving Shane a death glare.

He stepped forward to snatch the gun from her hands, but failed when she stepped backwards. Daryl got in between them. 'You really wanna try that again?' 'Everyone just calm down' Rick said. Shane snorted but spun around and walked away. 'Thanks' Mickey said to the both of them. He stood off to the side and watched as Rick showed her how to use the gun and how to aim. She copied his actions almost perfectly, Rick having to adjust her arms a few times. The rest of the group had all wandered over and leaned against the house, watching.

'Okay, now take a deep breath, aim, and pull the trigger.' Mickey took a deep breath before squeezing it, smiling when the glass at least 4 feet away from her exploded. She moved on to the can and shot in right in the middle. The people behind her clapped and she gave a small little bow. 'Great great grandpa Doc would be proud.' It took a few seconds to put the peices together, and Rick laughed aloud. 'Mickey Holiday' They practiced for another hour before Shane came out of the house with a thing of rope around his shoulder. 'I've got somethin I wanna see'

Everyone followed him over to the tree line where he suspended a big log of wood from a branch. He took a sharpie marker out his pocket and drew a very distinctive target onto it. 'You wanna see me throw a knife or somethin?' asked Mickey. Shane put his hands on his hips. 'That, and I wanna see ya shoot at this.' He put his hands on the log and said 'Be ready' before giving it a good shove. She took a knife out her belt and waited until it swayed for the second time before sending the dagger plunging ..right in the middle of the target. Shane moved to remove the knife but froze stock still when 3 others whizzed a hairs breath away from him. He slightly grimaced.

'Okay then, Holiday. Lets see how deadly ya are with that gun ya got.' It was said in a taunting way, grating on Mickey's nerves. She held the pistol with both hands, like Rick had showed her, and concentrated so hard that sweat poured off her forehead. Then again, it could've been the heat. 'Come on then' 'Shut up Shane' Everyone stifled a giggle at his facial expression. The log swayed, and then was smoking where a round little hole landed, also in the target. 'Dont call me Holiday, okay?' She put the pistol back in her pocket.

She was watching with a frown as Glenn was being lowered into the well. Something about a walker down there. Daryl walked over to the horse stables and Mickey followed. 'Can I go with ya this time?' He gave it a thought before putting her putting her on the horse first. 'Sure thing.' They went at a slow pace through the woods, Daryl carefully analyzing ever detail. A pile of leaves on the ground reminded Mickey that it would be cold soon..maybe Herschel would let them stay in the house. She was snapped out of her thoughts as the horse reared up, pulling a dagger out of its sheath, her eyes anxiously glanced around for walkers. 'Whoa whoa!' said Daryl, then the horse bucked both of them off and they went rolling and sliding down the hill.

The searing pain in her side and forehead was enough to wake Mickey from her unconsciousness. She was laying on muddy ground, her clothes soaked in water. She was seeing double, and strangely her hearing was enhanced. Her breathing quickened when she couldn't see Daryl. Adrenaline began pumping and was able to help her get quickly to her feet and wade through the water. She almost began running when loud groans and moaning came from the other side of the river. Daryl was lying in bloody water beating in the face of a walker that had been gnawing on his boot. 2 more came stumbling out of the woods, only to be put down quickly by Mickey's flying daggers. Daryl's head snapped back and saw her standing waist deep in water. Her entire forehead was bloody..as well as the water she was in. Something was sticking out of her side.

'Jesus..' Mickey waded over to Daryl who steadied her in the water and got a full view of the knife sticking out her side. 'Arrow get ya?' she asked. He nodded, than ripped the sleeves off both his arms, using one to wrap around Mickey's waist, and the other for himself. 'I cant pull it out. It looks too deep.' He gently ran his fingers lightly over his forehead, stopping when he heard a hiss of pain. 'Must've sliced it open on a rock on the way down.' Daryl saw someone walk up behind her and slung an arm over her shoulders. 'This is why you cant be trusted with at er, if you didn't let er tag along, she wouldn't b in this sitiation.' 'Daryl roughly grabbed Mickey away and tucked her into his side. 'Shut up Merle.'

He must be delusional..thought Mickey. The knife in her side was really starting to hurt. 'Daryl, I think we're gunna have ta climb back up' he snapped out of his stare down with 'Merle' and saw she was right. 'Get on.' he said, turning around and slightly squatting. 'Nuh uh. Your just as bad off as me. Im gunna be jus dead weight. We'll both go down.' 'You'll have ta go up first' They argued a bit , both of their blood mixing together in the dirty water. 'I wont be able ta pull ya up.' said Mickey. Her logic made sense and ended the debate.

She rushed over to Daryl when he slid down almost halfway up. He ruffled her hair and started up again, yelling almost the whole way before making it to the top. Mickey started to climb, bursts of hot pain every time she moved. Daryl reached down an arm and pulled her up. He couldn't stop staring at the blood soaked sleeve shirt around her stomach. They supported each other as they stumbled through the woods, where the horse went, they didnt know. Mickey chuckled at the ear necklace around Daryl's neck.

She could see the house through the tree line, and when they finally busted out into the field the direct sunlight made her cringe. Figures began to run towards them but stopped a few feet away with guns pointed at them.'Gunna shoot me?' asked Daryl 'Wait, doesn't that look like Daryl..and Mickey!' Glenn took a step forwards to get a closer look. Something whizzed by and made Daryl's head jerk sharply to the side before he collapsed to the ground, touching his head where the bullet grazed him. Mickey's adrenaline rush came back. She snarled at Andrea before leaping at her and tackling her to the ground. 'Shit!' said Shane. It took all the men, excluding Dale, to pry her off Andrea.

Glenn saw something sticking out of Mickey's side and said 'Dear God' before dropping his gun just in time to catch Mickey who went limp before falling face forwards. Rick and Shane hoisted up Daryl and dragged them towards the house. Glenn felt something warm dripping onto his shoulder. Her nose had started bleeding again.


	20. Chapter 20

Before they made it to the house, however, T-Dogg bent down to pick up something from the ground. It was a doll 'Isn't this Sophia's' Everyone was shocked with the toy, They all looked at each other before sprinting to the house. 'Oh my God. What happened?' Lori stood up from the porch with Carol as Herschel ushered Rick and Shane inside. Maggie put her hand up to her mouth at the sight of a limp unconscious Mickey being carried bridal style after them . 'Set them there' ordered Herschel. Patricia went to get the medical supplies as he began to examine their injuries. 'Bullets only grazed his head. But his side wound is gunna need to be stitched.' Rick helped Herschel take off Daryl's shirt while Patrica was looking at Mickey. 'We need ta get this knife outta her side.' Glenn visibly paled. He helped Patrica take off the bloody cloth around her stomach and roll up her shirt, stopping a little above her belly button.

Shane walked over to the door where everyone was gathered,watching, and told them to 'Give us some space' before shutting it . Daryl came around just before Mickey and automatically tried to roll over to her. Rick grabbed his arm. 'You cant right now.' Herschel and the medical tray rolled over to Mickey's side. 'It doesn't look like it punctured any organs. Just muscle. We'll need to pull it out, then stitch it shut.' Mickey blinked her eyes open. Herschel motioned Glenn to stand beside him, since he was closest. 'You'll need to hold her and make sure she don't move.' 'Daryl?' Mickey croaked. He reached across the bed and firmly gripped her hand. 'Right here darlin' 'We're gunna have ta do this slowly, inch by inch. It's going to be painful' Glenn sat behind Mickey and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, stabilizing her. Rick grabbed her legs. 'Here we go'

Yells of pain echoed inside the house,sending the rest of the group into chills. Inside the room, Mickey was sweating and had her eyes squeezed closed. Daryl tightened his grip on her hand as he shut his eyes and ducked his head. This was killing him. 'Almost over Mick-almost' whispered Glenn into her ear. At last the knife was pulled free and Patricia moved in with the disinfectant. The stinging was terrible, but Mickey was too tired to yell out. She was glad for the support Glenns body offered as she leaned backwards. Rick and Shane left, but Glenn remained as her side was stitched shut.

Finally everyone had left. Herschel had wanted to move Mickey to another room, but quickly dropped the subject when both she and Daryl protested. 'At least we found the doll' she said. 'Yeah..' she fell asleep.A while later she heard the sound of the door being pushed open. 'Thought I'd bring you guys some dinner' that was Carols voice. A moment of silence before 'You did more for my lil girl today than her daddy ever did in his whole life.' 'Nuthin Rick or Shane wouldn't have done' said Daryl. 'Ur every bit as good as them..every bit.' Mickey could feel the warmness over her as Carol leaned over and kissed Daryl's temple. Then she stroked Mickey's cheek and left. She opened her eyes a few minutes helped her sit up and they ate in silence.

They were both bed ridden the next 3 weeks. Every day Glenn and sometimes Dale would spend some time playing cards with Mickey. Even Daryl joined in for a game or two. Carl was now up and about, and even gave Mickey his Sheriffs hat to wear. 'Does it hurt to walk?' asked Dale as he kept his hands out in front of him just in case Mickey fell. She made it down the porch steps. 'Actually, not really.' They walked toward the tents together. Lori handed her a plate of eggs and she sat down on the ground by Daryl. Glenn shyly made his way to the front where everyone could see him. 'Uhh guys..' Mickey was the only one who bothered to look. 'Theres walkers in the barn!' You could hear a pin drop. Everyone else s heads snapped up. She got to her feet and followed everyone else over to the barn. Shane stepped forward to peer in between the cracks, only to jump back and look accusingly at Rick.

'I don't see too many options here' 'This is Herschels land. Ill talk to him.' Dale stepped forward and explained how Herschel only thought of walkers as 'sick' people. More arguing, Shane even suggesting we leave the farm. Daryl stalked forward 'Im so close to findin this lil girl. Found her damn doll the other day' Shane laughed at him ' Thats right Daryl. You found a doll...ya know what lemme tell ya somethin man. If Sophia were to walk across this field any minute and seen you all red necked out..man she would run in the other direction!. Im surprised Mickey can even stand you!' Daryl went for Shane to be held back by Rick and T-Dogg at the same time when Mickey said 'You son of a bitch!' before lunging towards him. Glenn yanked her back just in time.

Everyone parted ways, Daryl being the first. Mickey looked around for Glenn and figured he was with Maggie when she couldn't find him. Herschel called Rick over and they talked for a bit before walking off with Jimmy following. She saw Daryl over by the truck looking at a map Maggie had found to help search for Sophia. She didnt go over to him though, because she knew he was still mad, and didnt want to be the one who got snapped at. Carol followed him over to the horse stables and came out crying.

Mickey sat under a tree and looked up noticing that a fuzzy peach was hanging off one of the branches. Unfortunately the branch was high up in the tree. She looked around before pulling herself up onto the trunk. Even though her side was better, everyone constantly hovered her and kept asking about it sometimes. Almost there..she thought. 'Mickey what are you doin?' she gave a startled gasp before loosing her footing and crashed to the ground on her good side. The peach held slightly squished in her hand. Carl helped her up and she showed him the piece of fruit.

They sat on the porch when Shane came stomping towards them, Dale with an unreadable expression on his face behind him. 'Shane what are-' Lori was cut off by him speaking. 'This is it. We need to defend whats ours.' he began passing out guns. Some took them right away, others hesitated. He turned to Glenn 'What about you man, you gunna protect urs?' he took one look at Maggie before practically snatching the gun away. Then Shane walked over to Mickey. 'Time for the real thing. Put these in' he reached into his pocket and gave her a handful of bullets. 'Who's that?' asked T-Dogg Everyone looked over as Shane began jogging towards the field. 'What is that? what is that' Mickey scrambled to her feet and ran beside Daryl. He swung an arm out to keep her she saw made her mouth gape.

Rick, Herschel, and Jimmy were shepherding two walkers on leashes towards the barn. 'If you want ta stay on ma farm. You'll learn to treat them like people.' said Herschel. Shane scoffed 'These things aint sick. They are not people. They're dead. They killed Amy, they killed Otis, and they're gunna kill all of us.' He pulled his gun from his waistband and aimed it at the walker in front of Herschel. 'Hey Herschel, lemme ask ya something. Can a living, breathing person...could they walk away from this?' He fired shots into its chest. Rick paled. 'Shane stop!' 'Thats three rounds in the chest, Can someone who's alive take that? why is it still comin?' more shots to the chest. 'Thats its heart! Its lungs! why is it still comin?' 'Shane enough!' yelled Rick. 'Ya know man, ur absolutely right.' He walked past the walker and shot it straight in the head. 'That is enough.'

Herschel fell to his knees as Maggie and Beth rushed over to him. Shane sprinted to the barn and paced around the door. 'ENOUGH having to sleep with one eye open! ENOUGH lookin for a lil girl, whose GONE' Carol flinched. Throwing a dagger at Shane right now sounded pretty good.'Its time to end this, right here, right now!' he shouted before ripping open the doors of the bar. 'Mickey get back' said Daryl Walkers flooded out of the barn, anyone with a gun shooting away. Mickey took down 6 before she fell back to quickly reload, then taking down 6 more before no more walkers came out. Everyone waited with baited breath. A dirty white sneaker peeked out..and the last walker turned out to be

Sophia.

Carol ran forward, sobbing, when Daryl caught her around the waist and crashed to the ground. No one was prepared for this, even Shane looked completely shocked. Mickey lowered her pistol, Rick stepped forward and locked blue eyes with glassy green ones. He looked like he was going to cry. He fired the shot and Sophia crumpled to the ground. In the background Carol and Carl ran towards the sea of bodies. 'Mom, mom!' Rick tried to stop her, but she pushed through his arms and fell beside a walker lying face down. She turned it over and was caught in a vice grip as the walker snarled and smacked its jaws. Mickey fired her last shot and killed it. When the bodies were cleared a funeral service for Sophia and Herschels family. Carol didnt attend and Daryl stood with a mean glare during the entire service. Mickey stood a few steps away from him.


	21. Chapter 21

**Special shoutout to Brittany! :) Thank you for all the support, and that goes for all the reviewers and followers out there as well!**

'You take ur people, and get off ma farm' Mickey walked out the house before she could hear any more. They couldn't leave the farm. She wouldn't. Warm stickiness dripped onto the porch, another nosebleed. Lori passed by and saw her crimson coated hands before clamping her own over her mouth and hurrying away. Last night Daryl had packed up both his tent and Micky's before re settling far away from the others. There seemed to be a black cloud hanging over everyone, dampening their moods. Daryl was more distant,though any time he saw Mickey he would ruffle her hair. It seemed forced though. She needed some time for herself to think, so she headed into the woods to do some knife throwing. She emerged close to two hours later to see Maggie and Lori dash into the house. Rick was talking to Shane with a furrowed brow and a slightly panicked expression. This couldn't be good. Dale passed by her and Mickey called out to him. " Dale! What's going on?" " Herschel is missing, and there's something wrong with Beth."

Herschel missing? That must mean he's off the farm.. Mickey thought. She walked over to Rick who was surveying the landscape with his hands on his hips. She told him of her idea and he nodded his head in agreement. " You might be right. We'll need to issue a search party for him." She watched Daryl pass by them before turning back towards Rick. " You can count me in." To her surprise, he started chuckling, and put his hand on her shoulder. " I admire your courage, but I know Daryl would kill me if I let you come along. Maybe some other time." Before she walked away though, he called back to her. " Don't tell Lori about this..or anyone else." She gave a salute. "You got it boss."

A few hours later and Lori started to panic. Rick had taken only one other person with him, Glenn, and had slipped away without alerting anyone..well except Mickey, who tried to avoid the others when they wondered aloud where they could be. She climbed up a tree and pulled out a few sheets of Jenner's documents. Quite frankly, it all looked like alien speech to her. She heard someone yelling, and craned her neck behind her to see Lori stand in front of Daryl. Probably asking him to go look for Rick. He barely even looked at her. Her shoulder's slumped slightly before she walked away. Mickey knew that everyone was wondering why Daryl was taking the whole Sophia thing so hard, and Mickey did too. But she had enough common sense not to bother him too much, to just leave him be. Unfortunately Carol didn't take the hint.

It was pitch black outside, save for the individual squares of light coming through the house windows. The pain in Mickey's neck woke her up, she had fallen alseep in the tree. People were busting out and into the house, some were walking through the fields and shouting to each to each other. She stuffed the papers back inside her bag and dropped to the ground. " I don't see her!" she could make out T-Doggs voice and jogged to the fron tporch. What now? she thought. Carl was standing on the porch with big eyes. " Whats wrong Carl?" His fingers flexed together nervously. " My mom and dad are missing." Mickey started to feel slightly guilty about not telling anyone about Rick. Eventually everyone put the pieces together when Maggie noticed Glenns absence. " They're out lookin for Herschel..and Loris goin after 'em." Shane stomped towards his car and slammed the door shut before peeling out of the driveway and into the night."-and you didn't tell anyone this?" Mickey peeked her head into the kitchen to see Carol and Daryl arguing. " Well how was I supposed to know she was gunna go lookin fer 'em?" he said. Carol shook her head before walking out the back door. Daryl leaned against the stove picking at his fingernails. He glanced up. " Hey kid." " Hey." He took a seat at the table and motioned her over towards him. " How's ur side?" " Better. And your's?" He grunted before getting up and leaving her alone to rub her face with her hands.

A while later they all heard the crunch of gravel and saw Shane hop out of the drivers side to half support Lori out the passenger's, much to her annoyance. Her face had some small cuts scattered here and there. " What happened to you?" T-Dogg asked. "She was in a car accident." spat Shane. He was not happy at all. Lori pushed him slightly away and took several steps forward. " Where's Rick?" No body said anything, but exchanged looks with each other. Carl had crept quietly next to Mickey. Shane leaned against the door. " Look, I may have lied. But I had to get you back here to safety. God Dammit Lori, ya know I gotta protect the babay now too." Carl sucked in a breath. " Your pregnant?" He looked at his mother accusingly. Lori tried to speak but he cut her off. " When were you gunna tell me?" She didn't have time to answer before Carl speed walked back to the house. Lori and Shane followed him inside, followed by Carol and Dale.

The next morning Carol's Cherokee pulled into the driveway and Rick, Herschel, and Glenn hopped out. Maggie immediately rushed forwards to Glenn who pulled her off a bit roughly, Herschel looking dejected. Lori embraced Rick and he examined her face. " What happened to you?" "Car accident." His eyebrows shot up. There was another person in the back seat, but Mickey couldn't make out any definate features other than the shaggy brown hair and olive skin. Those were enough though, to arouse suspicions. She stalked over to the truck and leaned into the wiondow before ripping the bandana around the persons eyes off. Her eyes widened and she jumped back, still clutching the bandana. Everyone stopped talking. " Whats wrong Mick?" Daryl asked, but she ignorede him, and looked at everyone with a slighlty wild look in her eyes. " Y-You b-brough him here. Oh my God." Rick's mouth dropped when a river of red flowed out her nostrils. He made a move to go towards her but she backed up. By now everyone was advancing in a slow, small circle. " What is it Mickey?" Daryl asked again, this time much more looked from the unconcious person in the truck to everyone else before saying the words she tried to keep a secret, for as long as possible.

"He tried to rape me."


	22. Chapter 22

Time seemed to stand still. No body moved..they were all shocked. Daryl had a crest fallen look on his face. " What did you say?" he asked quietly. Mickey spun on her heel and took off, not really paying attention to where she was going. Everything passed by her in a blur. Rick rubbed his hand over his face before ushering Shane forward. They would be keeping him in the barn until further notice. Rick inclined his head slightly, and T-Dogg and Glenn took a couple more steps towards Daryl. At the same time as the door opened, Daryl tried to lunge forwards, only to be held back by the two. Cussing and practically frothing at the mouth. Mickey had dropped the bandana when she ran, and Shane stopped to the ground to pick it up, staring at it a bit before wrapping it very tightly around the young mans head. " I told you..I told you this was gunna be trouble." He quietly said to Rick, nonetheless, the words stung. As he was dragged away, Glenn and T-Dogg released Daryl, and he punched the bark off a tree before jogging after the direction Mickey went.

She was down by the horse stables, sitting on a hill with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her breathing was starting to come in ragged gasps, and she struggled to calm herself down. Suddenly she keeled over on her side, gripping the grass in fistfulls. Why is the world spinning? She thought. She almost jumped a mile when someone cautiously put their hand on her shoulder. She was pulled into someones lap. " C'mon baby, just breathe." Daryl rocked them both side to side until Mickey calmed down. She crawled out of his lap and sat cross legged in front of him instead. Staring at the ground. "Tell me what happened." Daryl asked in a quiet voice. She told him about coming across the three men in the woods, and how she had injured the younger one, the same one Rick had brought back, with one of her daggers. Daryl grit his teeth together, feeling the strange urge to cry, as he listened with rapt attention. " It's one of the reasons why I can't sleep most 'o the time. And I keep getting these stupid nosebleed outta no where.." "What's his name?" he asked. " Randall."

They sat together in silence for a while longer, no body came looking for them, and the sun set slowly. Mickey had moved to sit next to Daryl, who threw an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in close. Resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I think we should tell Rick. And Shane." he said. Mickey took a minute before nodding her head, and they both got to their feet, Daryl's arm never leaving her shoulders as they walked back to the house. Glenn and Maggie were sitting on the porch swing, but jumped to their feet at the sight of the two. Glenn looking helplessly at Mickey. She managed to give him a small smile as she walked inside with Daryl practically glued to her side. Rick and Shane were sitting on the couch, doing nothing, but like Maggie and Glenn, stood up. "I need to tell you guys some things..."

Rick and Shane were pissed as they lead the way to the barn, somewhere between a jog and a brisk walk. Daryl rubbed crcles into Mickeys shoulders when she hesitated to walk through the door. She took a breath before striding in. Randall was awake, and began pleading with Rick and Shane, not seeing Mickey behind them. " Shut up!" said Shane. He stepped top the side and ushered Mickey closer. Randalls eyes widened at the recognition, sweat beading on his forehead. He knew he was in deep shit. "There should be a scar near his ribcage." Rick lifted his shirt and glared at Randall. There was an ugly, deep pink line that angled from his ribcage down. Daryl stooped down in front of Rndall and just glared into his face. Not saying anything, his eyes said it all.

That night at dinner, Mickey tried to ignore the looks of sympathy being given to her from around the table, even Carl had seen her little freak out earlier. She gave everyone a small smile before going back to staring at her plate. Daryl had joined everyone else in the kitchen, and made sure to take a seat right next to her. Glenn on her other side. Afterwards she went outuside to swing on the porch when Dale took a seat on the railing, facing her. "You know what happened doesn't make you any less the person you already are." She reached over to hug him. "Thanks."

Everyone was aruguing with each other about the fate of Randall. Mainly everyone wanted him to get what he derserved, and be killed on the spot. Dale, however, saw where everyone was coming from, but believed that if they were to kill Randall, they would be killing what was left of there moral humanity left. But that didn't mean Dale didn't hate Randall though. He walked over to Daryl who was hanging another squirrell onto the line that served as a sort've barrier between his space and the space everyone else shared. " You know you can always come back to the group" said Dale. Daryl snorted. " What group? Groups broken." Dale let the words sink in before taking a couple steps forward. "You have a place in this group. You have the power to speak oyur mind about this!" Daryl didn't respond. " You cared about what happened to Sophia. And there's no doubt you care about Mickey." Daryl sat down on a tree stump, and before he walked away, Dale said. " She needs you, and whether or not you want to admit it, you need her too."


	23. Chapter 23

Herschel walked out of the barn where Rick and Shane were waiting for him. " The boy's leg has healed. He should be able to walk fine..maybe with a limp though." as he walked off, Rick and Shane exchanged looks with each other before storming into the barn, dragging out a gagged and bound Randall before throwing him in the trunk of Shane's car. It was decided earlier that would be dropped off far from the farm, and the " Randall issue" would be put to rest. Or so everyone thought.

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"Ready to roll Carl?" " You bet" he said between chuckles. He and Mickey got on their sides, faces staring down the long rolling hill. " Rollers on your mark, get set..go!" Glenn cheered for the two as they dissapeared down the side in a blur. Loud laughter filled up the plains. Carl got down first, followed by Mickey who had leaves in her hair. She was feeling much better since Randall was off the property. " Hey!" Daryl came up to them, holding two old tires on his forearms. Glenn's face split into a huge grin. " Glenn! You gotta race me bro." yelled Mickey as she and Carl crawled up the hill. " If I can even fit.." he trailed off. " Please, you're thinner than a damn bean pole." Daryl shoved a tire into his chest with a snide smirk. "Y' know, I got a better idea. How bout you go instead of Glenn, Daryl?" said Mickey. He scoffed aloud before trapping her with one arm and giving her a noogie. " Alright. But prepare ta get ur ass beat." Carol sat on the porch steps watching with something close to a small grimace on her face. She didn't dislike Mickey..she was just..jealous in a way. Of her and Daryl's relationship. They both had each other while Sophia was buried under the ground. "You so cheated!.." drifted up to the house, and she stood up and walked back inside.

The group gathered on the front lawn as a car pulled up, Shane and Rick hopped out, both slamming their doors and each looking like they had an encounter with a hellcat. Shane went around to open up the back while Rick walked over to Mickey, clapping a hand on her shoulder. Speaking to her and the rest of the group as well. " We were gunna leave 'im. But he told us that he knows this family. That means he would know how to find his way back to the farm, and lead his buddies to it as well." He looked Mickey in the eye. " I'm sorry." She nodded her head, but was struggling to calm the stirring pit of hate deep in her gut. Just looking at Randall made her fingers itch for one of her knives. She watched with everyone else as he was hauled back to the barn. Daryl was clenching and unclenching his fingers.

More arguing bounced off the walls in the living room.

" You couldn't jus kill 'im and be done with it?!"

"Now wait a minute Daryl-'

"I'm done waitin! After what he did to Mickey?! Y'all are insane."

"We'll just tell her not to go anywhere near the barn."

Rick held up a hand, trying to keep the peace as best he could. Daryl just shook his head and walked out the door, Mickey was leaning against the door frame, she had heard everything. He stooped in front of her and grabbed one of her hands. " I'm not gunna let 'im anywhere near you. Promise." " Okay." From the piercing looks Rick and Shane kept giving each other, it was obvious that some serious confrontation had gone down when they went to drop off Randall. Mickey had always felt uneasy around Shane, but now when ever he walked into her view it was like a big red flag was being waved around inside her head. She and Daryl shared the same suspicion that his story about Odis wasn't entirely legit. If at all. There was something in his eyes


	24. Chapter 24

"C'mon man, I didn't do anything, I didn't-" Daryl gave another hard kick to the side. " Didn't what? Didn't shoot at my boys?" He grabbed Randall by the shirt collar with both hands. " Didn't put your hands on my girl?" "That was a mistake!" he started sobbing. " It was jus, I hadn't seen a girl in so long.." Daryl landed kick after kick before yanking out his long hunting knife and slid the edge just under the big ugly scab on his leg. "Ever tried to rip one off before? They say ta do it real quick..but I think we should try it nice 'n slow." Randal started squirming. " No no no! Dont!" Daryl got back in his face. " Then tell me about your group! How many are you?" " Theres 30. Women, children..just like ur group." " But we're not bad!" he added in hurriedly. " But there's these two guys..they like to rape girls for fun ya know? See who can get the most .." That did it for Daryl. He threw down the knife and began beating the living crap outta Randall, who was hollering and thrashing getting some sort of revenge for Mickey.

He hefted his crossbow over his shoulder and put on a poker face as he walked back to the group. Only Mickey could see the last remains of a smoldering fire. "Well?" asked Rick. " Says there's 30. Women, children..but the guys." He spared a quick glance towards Mickey. " He say's there's two guys who like ta mess with girls." "Like the ones who caught Mickey." muttered Rick under his breath. He snapped his head up and put his hands on his hips. " Thats it. He's a threat. And we must eliminate that threat." Dale got a bewildered look on his face and started to follow after Rick as he walked away, trying his best to preserve Randall. Mickey went over to Daryl and grabbed his arm, bringing him in for a warm hug. " Thanks." He ruffled her hair. " No worries kid."

The day was dwindling down to an end, it was almost time for Randall to be executed. They all assembled in the living room, even Mickey. No one told her to leave. " I have decided to take a vote. Now's the time to speak 'ur mind." Hands raised in favor of Randall's death. Only Dale was left for the other option. Some, like Herschel and his family, Carol, Daryl and Mickey, just hung back in the wings, watching everyone else. Did Mickey want Randall to die? Yes. Was she sure that this was the real her speaking? No. So instead she opted to say nothing, and let everything play out on its own. Dale stood up in his corner of the room, arms outstretched, trying to convince everyone to see it his way. "He could be an asset for all we know?" Shane rolled his eyes. " Okay, lets say he does help around the farm..lets say he's nice. And then when we all have our guard down, he tries to attack Mickey again and bring the rest of his group here." " So your just going to kill him for a crime he may never even commit?!" Mickey felt a little betrayed. " Theres no goin back when ur that far down." Her gray eyes darkened, signaling an approaching storm.

Dale tried to get Glenn on his side, only to be turned down. His lips quivered a bit and he stalked out the room, pausing to clap Daryl on the shoulder. " Your right. This group is broken." The door slammed shut as he walked out. " Well thats it then." Rick though quietly to himself before walking out the door. Mickey waited a moment before following him. He was leaning against the porch railing, staring out towards the barn. Mickey took a spot next to him. " I'm not so sure I can do this." he muttered. " Thats how I know you can. Being a leader isn't easy..and if you think it is..then your not right for the job." Rick looked at her and gave her a genuine smile. "I want to come with you when you do it. If you don't want me to..watch, then fine. But I need to be there." He stared at her for a moment, the sun finally going down. " Okay." She, Rick, Shane, and Daryl walked to the barn, Daryl at first didn't agree with letting Mickey tag along, but understood how she felt, and relented. Though he told her to turn around facing the wall so she wouldn't actually..see the process. The barn doors creaked open, and Randall stood up with very big eyes glued to the pistol in Rick's hand. "Oh no no no no.." He started to sob as Daryl and Shane grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him in front of Rick. " You wanna stand or kneel." Randall couldn't even form words other than " Please, please no." Rick flipped the safety off and pointed the gun right in front of Randall's temple. " Turn around Mick." She already was. ' Any last words?.." More crying. And right when the job was about to be finished, Carl walked into the barn. " Do it dad." the gun was lowered, and Rick had an " I dont believe this" look on his face as he waved his arm. "Take him away." Daryl dragged Randall off while Shane stomped over to Carl and proceeded to tell him off in a semi quiet voice.

The night was quiet..until loud yells echoed through the trees. " What was that?" The yelling sounded more agonizing, and Mickey took off from the porch. " Dale! Dale!" she yelled. "Over here!" She could see Daryl frantically waving his arms in the air, and she raced over to him, dropping to her knees and putting a hand over her mouth at the sight before her. Dale was all ripped open in the rest of the group caught up with her, Rick pacing with his hands in his hair. " WE NEED HERSCHEL!" He yelled. Mickey grabbed one of Dales hands and scooted over so Andrea could be closer to him. "Oh God.." she looked away fro a brief moment. Mickey just started with her mouth agape. Herschel came jogging over to them. " Help him!" said Rick. " He cant be moved..and the damage is too bad..I'm sorry." Rick reeled over to the side before pulling out his gun and aiming it down at Dale. Mickey moved over more so she wouldn't get hit. The gun shook, and Daryl gently took it from Rick's hand before dropping to his knees. Dale stared at the gun in his face with wide and watery eyes. ' He's suffering." Andrea said.

"I'm sorry, brother."

Bang.

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They dug Dale a burial plot next to Sophia. What was supposed to be a reverent gesture looked grim, depressing. Rick gave a speech about Dale that almost moved Mickey to tears. But she hardly cried, and when she did, did it when no one could see her. When Rick's soft voice faded away with the light breeze, she stepped forward with her guitar in her hands, and layed it against a tree, right in front of his burial plot. Mickey rode in the back of a rusty blue pickup in between Daryl and T-Dogg, seeing a group of walkers up against the fence and munching on a fallen cow. She hopped out with Glenn's baseball batt and ran with her other group members, smashing the faces in of walkers repeatedly, trying to get the image of Dale's dead body out of her head. Daryl put a hand on her shoulder, and they rode back to the farm.

What was going to happen next?


	25. Chapter 25

**Brittany, you're awesome ;) .**

"Whoa whoa, dont strain yourself." T-Dogg took the tub from Lori and she smiled in appreciation. Since Dale's passing, Herschel had opened up more to the group, and had offered them to stay inside the house for the winter. Rick had also planned to release Randall, in honor of Dale, and just hope for the best. Funny how you can make a much bigger impact when you're dead. Mickey was working on the Winnebago with Glenn, who kept reaching up to rub his eyes. " You can cry. I dont mind." she had said quietly. He did just that. " I let him down. I didn't have his back." Mickey wiped the sweat from her forehead, leaving a black smudge in the process. " Dale loved you. And he would understand." He gave a small smile and went to the drivers seat to start the Winnebago. Mickey gave a loud " Whoop whoop!" when the engine purred, smooth as silk.

Daryl watched Mickey walk by the Windmill that Shane was currently up in, doing who knows what. " Watch out Mick!" Shane yelled down. She took a huge hop back, just in time to see a wrench fall to the ground in front of her. She cupped a hand over her eyes and looked up at Shane. " Dude, you tryin ta kill me?" " I'm comin down, hold on." When he finally hopped down to the ground, he took the wrench from Mickey with an easy smile. " Sorry." " Its fine..um it looks like Lori's comin this way." Mickey gave her a smile and walked over to Daryl who grabbed the top of her head and wiped off her forehead with his red rag. " Looks like someone's bein a lil grease monkey today." "That makes two of us." Glenn flicked Mickey on the ear as he passed her and walked up the porch steps. Maggie greeted him with a quick peck on the lips.

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"Why don't ya go an' check up on the kid, T-Dogg?." He obliged to Andrea's request with a shrug of the shoulders, and walked down to the barn. Strangely, it was all quiet. Normally whenever someone went to check up on Randall, his mouth would run a mile a minute, trying to convince Rick and the others to let him go..or at least out of the barn. T-Dogg peeked through the cracks. "Oh hell no!" He ran back towards the house, yelling madly. Daryl and Mickey jumped up from the places against the wall and bolted outside. " What's wrong T-Mann?" Mickey asked. He huffed slightly. " Randall's gone." She could feel another nosebleed coming on. The rest of the group ran across the field, Rick being in the lead, hands running over the doors, inspecting it. " The locks are still intact.' Mickey pointed out. She stepped closer to the barn for a better look. "He was supposed ta be tied up, right?" she and Daryl shared a look, something didn't sit well. Someone was crunching leaves over beside the barn in the woods, and Shane came out with a wicked expression, his nose and most of his face covered in blood.

"What the hell happened?" asked Andrea. "Randall! Lil asshole jumped me and punched me in the face!..took ma gun too." "When could he have jumped you? As soon as you opened the doors?" scoffed Daryl. Shane glared at him. " He must have used something to cut his bonds." Rick rubbed a hand over his face before turning towards T-Dogg. " Take everyone inside. Glenn, you and Mickey go with Daryl. I'll go with Shane." Mickey was glad that Rick trusted her. Daryl positioned himself so he was covering her right side, while Glenn had her left. They gripped the weapons they had a bit tighter, Mickey giving Glenn one of her knives, and they looked uneasily around them before filing into the woods. Once they stepped inside it was like the light was completely sucked from the area. The treetops overhead were thick and lush, obscuring most of the light, and what light there was, was a eery yellow. " Daryl led Glenn and Mickey at an even pace, frequently staring at the ground before looking up and around him, and then behind him where Glenn and Mickey looked like they were glued to the side.

They hadn't found anything unusual..or really heard anything, strangely, until heavy and uneven footfalls softly echoed off the trees. Glenn immediately hopped behind a tree, pulling Mickey in front of him with a tight grip on her shouter. Daryl looking at them from behind the trunk of a tree right next to them. The footsteps advanced. Mickey's fingers twitched involuntarily around the handle of her favorite hunting knife. It was quiet for a brief second until a walker appeared just in between the trees. Mickey kneed it in the stomach swiftly before plunging her knife in on the way down. It collapsed to the ground with a thud. " Good work Mick. Gimme that flashlight kid." Glenn handed it to Daryl and he stooped to the ground, light shining on the greenish greyish face. " Well, looks like we found Randall." Mickey nudged its leg with her shoe.

Daryl ran his fingers lightly over the body, pulling away a bit of clothing, all the while with a crinkled brow. He stopped and looked at the two. " There's no bite marks. Or scratches for that matter." " Thats impossible." said Glenn. Daryl poked his fingers into the walkers neck. " Necks broken. That's what he died of." Mickey leaned against a tree, pulling away when she spotted something shining in the walkers waistband. "Son of a bitch! How'd he get my gun?" She yanked it out, inspecting it. "Whats on ur back Mick?" " What?" " Hold still." Daryl shone the flashlight on her back to reveal a big, shiny red blotch. "That's blood." Glenn stated, and stepped forwards before dabbing at it with a finger. " Still fresh." Mickey turned around, reloading her pistol that was empty in the process. " I knew what Shane said was just another bullshit story." Daryl nodded, shining the flashlight on the ground away from them, he walked briskly over to the spot and squatted. " These are footprints." Glenn picked up the long piece of rope, twirling it in his fingers. " And that would be the bonds. We gotta head back."

"Are you sure?" " Yep. Randall died from a broken neck..we found blood on a tree not far away and the bonds were severed, lying on the ground not far. Shane says that Randall cuts his bonds on the inside of the barn, so why would he take them with him?" " Plus I found my pistol in his waistband." Everyone shared looks with each other before hearing a loud cracking sound off in the distance. They filed out to the porch. " Sounded like a gunshot." Herschel said, leaning against the railing. Lori's eyes widened before she turned to Daryl. " Will you please go and see if you can find Rick and Shane. Find out whats goin on?" "You got it. Let's go, Mick." Carol stepped forward and put her hands on Mickey's shoulders. " Maybe that's not such a good idea." Her fingers slightly tightened. What the heck? Mickey thought. Daryl cocked an eyebrow before tugging her out of Carol's hands, his grip on her shoulder more slack, but still somewhat possessive. " Don't see what's so bad ' bout it." They walked out the door.

After walking around the plains for a few minutes, they returned back to the porch where a frantic Lori ran into the house yelling for Carl. He didn't show. Thats when Mickey saw something moving up towards the house out of the treeline. She hopped onto the railing and craned her neck, eyes widening. No human walked like that. " Walkers..." she breathed.


	26. Chapter 26

"Walkers, walkers!" Mickey said more loudly, everyone snapped their heads in the direction she was pointing towards. Sure enough, a whole sea of walkers were slowly advancing on the farm. Daryl loaded a bolt into his crossbow, anyone with a gun pulled them out. Thank God I reloaded..thought Mickey. " What are we gunna do?" Maggie asked, frantic. Glenn stepped closer to her with a look of determination. " We gotta move the cars. See how many we can take out." "And after that?" Mickey asked. " We get off the farm." Lori and Carol ran back inside the house, screaming for Carl. Walkers were getting closer to the farm, and Mickey joined Herschel in shooting off the ones that got to close. Everyone else had took off in their cars, or in Daryl's case, motorcycle, around the farm. Gunshots fired every second. Speaking of Daryl, Mickey couldn't find him, or hear him. It was stupid, but she hopped off the porch, all the while keeping her gun in front of her, before taking out her longest knives, weaving in between and around walkers. 'DARYL!." She called out. Frantic screaming far on her left. Patricia was being torn apart by a group of walkers, Lori and Beth hopped into a blue pickup. Mickey ran towards it, shouting and waving her arms, but it was already gone.

A walker staggered over towards her and she flicked her knife at it, retrieving it quickly. She hollered some more for Daryl,and thought she was done for, until Shane's car screeched beside her and the backseat door opened. " Hop in Mick!." She shut the door just in time, although now she had a severed walker arm. She rolled down the window and tossed it out. Maggie was driving madly, while Glenn was in the passenger sea. He twisted around and checked Mickey for any bites or scratches, sighing when he didn't see any. " Daryl! Where's Daryl?!" " I saw him over by the fence line." Mickey looked out towards it through the lightly tinted windows. She could make out him sitting on his motorcycle, before jumping up like an animal picking up the smallest sound, before kicking the bike into gear and driving down towards the barn. " Whats he doing?! Let me out." She reached for the door handle but Glenn reached over Maggie and locked all the doors. " I'm serious Glenn, let me out we gotta go get him!" Maggie stopped the car and a mass of walkers descended, pounding and clawing at the car. It began to rock ever so slightly. " He's smart. He was probably picking someone up. We gotta go!" Glenn looked at Maggie.

"Get off the farm Maggie." She shook her head, she, like Mickey, didn't want to leave the others. " Do it now! Maggie it's lost!" The car began rocking more. She started it up and put it into reverse, swinging ti around hard before driving off the property. Mickey kicked the inside of the door and ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

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Daryl sat off to the side behind the barbed fence, surveying the landscape for any sign of Mickey. He almost shouted out when he saw a mountain of walkers feeding on someone, but a peek of blonde hair told him that Patricia was the unlucky one. When she first spotted the walkers, Daryl had ran over to his bike, yelling at Mickey to stay on the porch. He wanted to see if there were any openings..and if there weren't, at least she wouldn't go down with Daryl if he got caught by walkers. But when he circled back to the porch and didn't see her there..he cursed aloud. Everyone was panicking though, so he didn't blame her if she couldn't hear him. Someone screamed and he kicked the bike to life before zooming towards the barn. He mentally rolled his eyes when it turned out to be Carol. " Get on, I dont got all day." When they were cruising along the road and away from the farm Carol yelled over the engine. " Where's Mickey?" His knuckles turned white. What if she was still on the farm?

He pushed the thought aside. Mickey was a smart kid. She either somehow miraculously got off the farm by herself, or got picked up by someone else. The highway would answer his question.

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Mickey pinched her nose as yet another nosebleed filled the car with a salty, iron scent. She was beginning to believe that she got these from stress or under extreme times of panic. Quite frankly, they were annoying as shit. Glenn had to trade places with Maggie driving, she was a wreck right now. He looked at her form the rear view mirror. " You gunna be okay Mick?" She nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet. She hated herself for just leaving the farm, and not fighting harder to get out to get Daryl. Instead she was here, safe in a car on her way back to the highway. She was relieved though, when they pulled in and saw Rick with Carl and Herschel, standing behind a big truck. A purring engine neared, and Daryl parked his bike beside Shane's green car with Carol on the back. Mickey ran over and tackled him off his bike. He squeezed her tightly before kissing her forehead. " Jesus kid, you had me scared off ma ass." The rest of the group reunited..minus Andrea, and Beth and Jimmy, who got ate up by walkers. Shane was a no show as well. Rick looked at Lori and shook his head when she asked him. Everyone was a bit shocked, if at all. Even Mickey had to admit that Shane was one tough son of a bitch..taken down by walkers?

From previous experience, everyone knew that the highway was not safe. They talked for a bit before deciding to follow the road. Everyone hopped into their respective vehicles, although this time Mickey rode with Daryl while Carol went with Glenn and Maggie. Rick honked once and the line of vehicles stopped. " Run outta gas?" Daryl asked. " Been runnin on fumes for at least half a mile." Everyone glanced around their surroundings uneasily. Mickey sparring a quick glance from side to side before focusing on Rick. "I think there's a gas station up ahead. We'll camp here for tonight..set out tomorrow." " You want us to camp here/ What if its not safe? We're on the road." said Maggie. Rick held up a hand, trying to calm her down. " These are far from the main roads. We should be fine."More arguing before Rick asked about Randall. " We found 'im. As a walker..but the funny thing is, is that..he didn't have no bites or scratches. He died from a broken neck." " How is that possible?" Glenn chimed in. Rick started at Mickey, making the group more uneasy. She shook her head at him and he continued.

" We're all infected. Whatever this is. Jenner told me when we were leaving the CDC." Carol walked forwards. " And you didn't say anything?" " Wait, theres more. Jenner told me that Mickey..well her blood is very special. O Rh Positive, the kind that can be distributed to anybody." All eyes shifted towards Mickey, and she clenched and unclenched her fingers nervously. " Jenner thinks that Mickey can be the key to a cure." Rick looked over at her. " Do ya still got the documents.'' She shook her head sadly. " Must've left the bag at the farm." " Why didn't you guys say anything?" Glenna asked. Rick stepped forwards. " I thought it would be better not to tell. And I told Mickey to keep it between us. If you wanna be mad, be mad at me, not her." Everyone quieted a moment to think to themselves. Mickey walked over to Daryl. " Are you mad?" like before he ruffled her hair. " Naw,jus' surprised.'

It got dark out, the group was camped in a small embankment, sitting around a small campfire. Mickey was talking to Glenn, but strained her ears to listen in on Carol's discussion with Daryl. " I dont trust him." Carol said. " He's done right by me." Daryl poked a stick into the fire. " I think we should leave. Tonight. Just pack up and go." Daryl's head snapped towards her, and his voice rose a few levels. " And leave Mickey? Are you fucking insane? That's never gunna happen." Mickey exhaled a breath. What was up with Carol recently? "You act like she's your's." Carol stated, somewhat venomously. Daryl's voice rose some more. " She _is _mine. Blood or not. Aint nuthin gunna change that." He spoke no more to her then.

Mickey could see the veins pushing out against his forehead as he argued with Maggie and Carl. " We can do this. For God sakes, we found each other on the highway! We'll think of something! ..Build a life for ourselves..each other. Christ, I killed my _best friend for you people! _Carl gasped in the background as Lori held him close to her. No body moved. Mickey remained solid, but looked Rick in the eyes with understanding..support. She spoke up then. " I don't know about anyone else..but he's right. I trust this guy, his judgement. We need to stay together." Rick nodded at her, before turning to the rest of the group again, his voice had more of an edge. Much more. " I don't see nobody movin, so let's get something straight. This isn't a democracy anymore."

Daryl looked at Mickey, who in turn scooted closer towards him, grabbing Glenns hand next to her. As long as she had the group, she was okay.


	27. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Whooie ;) Finally finished. I'm so stoked for season 3 of The Walking Dead. My plan is to continue with a sequel once the new season comes out, and so on. **

**Big thanks to all the reviews for this story!  
**


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